Ratchet and Clank Future: Homecoming
by Paul G
Summary: The story continues where Tools of Destruction leaves off, and begins with Clank's adventures, his reunion with Ratchet and their journey to let the lombaxes know that they can return to Polaris.
1. Disclaimers

**Disclaimers:**

Welcome to my first ever fanfic. Please, wipe your feet, come in and have a seat. Let me get you a refreshing beverage while you read about the ground rules...

a) Ratchet, Clank, their entire universe and everything in it are copyright and trademark by Sony and Insomniac Games, Inc. and are used without permission in this story.

b) The term "manifestor" was coined by Hatoshi (a.k.a. Stephen Stryker). I have used the term, and the general concept behind the technology with his permission. Special thanks go out to him for his encouragement and feedback on this project - without him, this probably would never have been placed online and would have remained on my local drive and archives until the bits slowly faded into /dev/null.

c) In this fic, a manifestor is a specialized storage and inventory system based on an adaptation of teleportation technology. A short range teleportation field is used to scan an item, reduce it to an electronic pattern and store it in a data buffer indefinitely within a control crystal. This control crystal, typically worn on a character's glove, can be used to select any item in that inventory and "manifest" it in the character's hand. Most characters, including Ratchet, wear a control crystal on the sleeve of their glove just above the outer wrist. Clank has a manifestor built into his design, located just behind his front grill. Anyone who has seen the episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, 'Relics' will recognize this concept. Although in my fic, no living creature has ever been stored in a manifestor, and items that cannot be scanned for whatever reason are rejected.

d) Any other characters, constructs, devices, snacks, plant life or metaphysical theories that are in this story that are not the property of Sony, Insomniac Games, Inc. or Hatoshi are my own constructs. Personally, I can't see why anyone would ever really want to reuse them, but if you do you really should ask first. It's polite.

e) This story begins at the conclusion of Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. You should assume that if you read beyond this point, anything in any of the currently published and available Ratchet & Clank games may be used as reference or history, and you WILL be exposed to spoilers if you have not played them before. This includes Ratchet & Clank (R&C1), Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (R&C2), Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (R&C3), Ratchet: Deadlocked (R:DL), Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (R&C:SM), Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools Of Destruction (R&CF:ToD). At the time this story was written (27 May 2008 -> 15 Jun 2008), Secret Agent Clank had not yet been released.

f) If the spoiler issue means anything to you, then you should go out, buy, play and enjoy all of the games listed above. I highly recommended them! (Shameless plug for IG)

g) This is NOT how I think the next episode of Ratchet & Clank Future will play out, nor do I think there are any real game playing possibilities in this plotline.

h) This story is nowhere near the scale, scope or level of detail as Hatoshi's. It is also my first attempt at writing anything for a _really_ long time. It is merely a minor amusement, a side story to while away the time... You are hereby warned.

i) Enjoy!!

* * *


	2. Prologue

**Prologue: Sire**

"We needed to make sure you survived. Now it is time to come home."

Clank watched the Zoni circling slowly around him. Ratchet stared at him, and at the Zoni in particular. They were apparently visible to everyone in the terrarium. "Uh, Clank... Are these the Zoni?" Ratchet asked.

He could feel the Zoni lifting him, and his feet leave the ground. He continued to watch them circle. As they did, he felt a strange interface on his neural network. It was similar to what he had experienced before when the Zoni had shown him glimpses of future or distant events, but was somehow deeper, more intimate. And it was also strangely familiar - the energy signature was a very close match to his own.

"The time has come, sire, to learn who you are and who you will become."

The interface was strangely intoxicating. He heard Ratchet below him, but he could not make out his friend's words. He knew that he was levitating, but was unsure where he was. Watching the Zoni around him, he was becoming disoriented. His optical scanners could not focus on the station's domelike glass structures around him. They seemed almost insubstantial - he could see that they were merely a play of matter and energy, shifting between the two states in a universal constant. Everything around seemed to be distorted in a similar manner - neither matter nor energy, but both. And, strangely, neither.

He heard himself whisper, "Yes... Time to come with you..."

His response sounded strangely distant, even to himself. He heard a shout from below. There was a sudden discharge of energy, and the scene changed.

He was suspended... floating. No, that was not quite right. There was direction involved. Purpose. Flying, perhaps. But there was no 'up', 'down', 'forward'...; the standard eleven dimensional references did not appear to have any meaning here, wherever 'here' was.

His sensors were extremely disoriented, and they tried to fix on his surroundings. The only objects they could lock on to were strange discrete patterns surrounding him, complex matrices of energy. These bursts appeared to have a symmetry and structure to them, but they did not register as any form of either energy or matter that he was familiar with. But these structures seemed to have a purpose. Or perhaps something even greater - they appeared to have intent; as though they themselves were somehow sentient.

An image appeared in his mind, that of the cragmites roaming Polaris, spreading beyond the one galaxy and leaving devastation in their wake. The words "They must be returned." formed in his mind. He raised his hand to his head and shook it slightly to clear it, and then nodded his understanding.

Three of the strange energy structures circled around him, and he began to consider Ratchet's last question in his own mind - 'Uh, Clank... Are these the Zoni?' Perhaps that question was still relevant. Studying the energy patterns that composed one of the structures, he noted that it was actually comprised of an unusual combination of both a logical regular pattern and a chaotic random one. These two patterns swirled around each other, complimenting and feeding back on each other. There was an odd balance, a symmetry, and he perceived that this was what made the whole structure stable.

There was no sense of damping or inertia, but he became aware that his motion had terminated. In front of his sensors was a fourth energy structure, slightly larger than the others. This one also was composed of a complimentary pair of logical and chaotic patterns, but this one seemed strangely familiar to him. Unlike the other structures around him, he found that he could predict the continual shifting in the logical portion of this larger 'entity' with 100 accuracy. Even the chaotic portion of the pattern tugged at his memory, as though he had encountered it before many times. While he could not predict the movement of that pattern beyond a probability of 78, that was still significantly greater than he could statistically expect from random chance. It was somehow as though he instinctively knew the organic movements of the pattern as they happened.

Organic...?

The logical portion of the pattern extended part of itself towards him. He mirrored the gesture, reaching out his hand in return. They touched. His mind was flooded with images and memories that seemed to span the duration of the universe and extend well beyond its borders. It was too fast to take in, and he adjusted his input processors and buffers to capture and store as much of the data as possible so that he could review it offline. But his buffers overflowed and some of the information stream penetrated beyond the security protocol layer and was no longer able to be traced as it made its way deeper into his core. Above everything else he experienced was an overwhelming sense of the entity's consciousness and identity: Clank!

* * *


	3. Chapter 01

**Chapter 1: Exile**

Ratchet looked up into the eyes of his friends. Talwyn was there, looking at him with sadness and an understanding of his loss. Cronk's head was bowed with respect and his hands held the broken dimensionator that he and Zephyr had been playing with. Zephyr looked on sadly, Ratchet's omniwrench still held loosely his grip. Even Qwark and Rusty Pete, standing just behind them, understood the significance of what just happened, and remained silent.

Ratchet's right arm was completely numb from the shoulder down. Whatever the Zoni used on him to knock him away from Clank and the portal packed a lot of power. But that had never stopped him before. What really bothered him was Clank's behavior as they took him. He seemed dazed - following along willingly, as though he was under their complete control. Ratchet wasn't even sure if Clank heard him call out, or knew he was being taken. Or to where.

That was a problem he'd have to deal with when he got there. Right now, he had to find Clank. And from what his friend had told him about the Zoni, that could be a problem. What was it that Clank said? 'They are little invisible creatures who travel through time...' Great. That wasn't the kind of thing that he could just hop into Aphelion and track. He needed something a bit more...

"Cronk, gimme the dimensionator..."

Cronk hesitated. "But you said it was broken..." Ratchet nodded, "It is. But it won't be for long." The others looked at him. "It worked fine before and it got us away from Tachyon. I took it apart myself. Clank watched. But that doesn't mean I don't know how to put it back together... All it needs is one part..."

He reached for the manifestor crystal on his right glove with his left hand. Touching the control, the three and three quarter centicubit hexagonal washer materialized in his right hand. But his fingers had absolutely no sense of touch and he could not close his hand. The washer fell from his numb grip to the terrarium soil at his feet. Both Cronk and Zephyr bent to pick it up at the same time, bumped their heads together and fell to the ground with a crash and a pair of low groans.

"Will you two knock it off!" Talwyn scolded quietly. In a well-practice chorus, both warbots replied, "Yes, Miss Talwyn." She picked up the washer and looked at Ratchet's face. "You're not goin' anywhere. Just look at yourself. You can't even hold the washer - how do you expect to fix the dimensionator or deal with the Zoni when you do. I'm worried about Clank too, but be reasonable." She put the washer into her own manifestor. "Now lemme see that arm."

"Fine," Ratchet replied shortly, his voice showing his frustration. She was right, of course. How could he hold a weapon if he can't hang on to a simple washer? Ratchet was just glad that he hadn't tried for something more explosive... He looked into Talwyn's face and saw her concern. Ratchet mumbled an apology, "Sorry. I just don't wanna waste time. Clank could be in trouble." He slowly extended his right arm. It was still very difficult to move, but at least there was some sensation returning. Granted, 'pain' as a sensation was not all that nice, but it was better than nothing. Talwyn nodded, "I understand. We all feel that way. But the sooner we get you fixed up, the sooner we can go after him..." She took his arm and began to examine it, probing below the fur for any signs of damage. Ratchet grimaced slightly at the probing, and thought to himself, '_we_ can go after him?' Uh...

"Nothing seems broken, and there're no burns on the fur. There're a lot of scars underneath though." She looked into Ratchet's eyes. "I take it you had a misspent youth." Ratchet grinned back, "You might say that... Ow!" The feeling was coming back to his arm and even her gentle touch really hurt as she moved it slightly in her examination. "As for the scars, nanotech works wonders, but some things still leave a mark..."

Talwyn looked up at Qwark and Rusty Pete. "Why don't the two of you do something useful and bring me a nanotech crate." Qwark puffed himself up and was about to go into one of his heroic lectures when Ratchet broke in first. "Really, I'll be fine; just gimme a minute. I'm just worried about Clank."

"Hello, Ratchet."

"CLANK?!" The voice came from directly behind the lombax. He spun around in surprise. Clank was standing behind him, looking up into his face. "You're okay!" Ratchet rushed towards his friend and moved to pick him up in his arms, but he became very aware of the eyes of the others watching him. He fell down to one knee in front of his friend and offered his right fist, fingers only slightly closed due to the continued numbness and pain. Clank gently butted his own fist into his, looked up into Ratchet's eyes and smiled.

"So, you going to tell us what happened? Where'd'ya go? What'd the Zoni do? How'd'ya get away?" The stream of questions that were in Ratchet's mind spilled out in a continued flow, only to eventually be shut down by Clank's shaking his head.

"Unfortunately, Ratchet, I cannot tell you. I am not trying to withhold data from you; I simply do not know myself.

"I suspect that the Zoni took me not to a different place, but to a different... phase of existence. I am still struggling to process it. While there is much that I do not understand, I have learned two important points:"

"The return of the cragmites must be reversed. While Tachyon has been vanquished, the portals that he opened allowed many of his species to return to this dimension. They must be forced back into exile. The consequences of their presence here will be dire for all life forms in this universe.

"The Zoni themselves are energy beings that appear to be the result of the merging of both organic and robotic sentience. They appear to have origins in this dimension, but have grown beyond the need for any physical manifestation. Because they have the ability to move through time, they have played a role in many events in our history, and are likely to play a role in many more over the eons. In researching their origins, they have discovered their evolutionary basis; the Zoni's reference to me as 'sire' was not due to a hierarchical structure, but instead as one of the progenitors of their species..."

Ratchet head was spinning. While what Clank said so far hadn't made much sense, he understood that part. "Clank! You're going to be a father!? Congratulations!"

"I am not certain that the term applies in the manner in which you are thinking," Clank corrected. "But in some way, the Zoni have identified me as being a part of their origin. As such, they intervened to protect us, and thereby themselves, at various intervals during the search for the dimensionator. Why they chose to reveal themselves, or to provide me with a glimpse into their existence is something I do not yet understand."

Talwyn guessed, "Could it have something to do with the cragmites? The first thing you said was that they had to be put back somehow. Maybe the Zoni want you to do it? Since that's the first thing you remembered, maybe it's the most important."

Clank looked up to Talwyn, and then to Ratchet. "That is very possible. I have no way of verifying it, but it is logical."

* * *

"I still don't see why you have to leave." Talwyn was rather skeptical. "From what I understand, you can use the dimensionator right here and accomplish the same thing. Why do you need to go to Reepor?"

Ratchet and Talwyn had been back and forth about this for almost an hour now. When Ratchet asked her for the washer back to fix the dimensionator, Talwyn was a little suspicious. She checked the landing pad and found Aphelion prepped for takeoff. Things went downhill from there. It was uncanny how she could look at him and know when he wasn't telling her the whole story.

Ratchet tried to tell her that it was the center of the cragmite return, that on their home world he was more likely to catch 'em all. He even tried to say that he could bring back evidence that they were gone. But these didn't come close to the real reasons. "Look, this way, I can make sure they're all gone." Ratchet was trying, but was unconvincing. "Once that's done, we'll be back in Aphelion and here in a couple hours." He could tell this was not working.

Ratchet really couldn't explain it. There was something fundamentally 'right' about using the dimensionator on Reepor. From all he knew of the dimensionator, it _should_ work anywhere; but somehow he knew that it _should_ be done on Reepor. But how could he explain it to her when he couldn't even explain it to himself.

"Another thing," Ratchet scrambled to try to find a different approach, "I don't know how this'll work. If the dimensionator attracts the cragmites to it, the last thing I want is to have 'em all coming here." Huh? Where'd that came from? That was not what he meant to say. He meant to say that there were probably more cragmites on Reepor than anywhere else. But this just kinda popped out.

But he seemed to hit a nerve; both in Talwyn and in himself. For Ratchet, it was a realization that, yes, he was worried. If this didn't work, or if any of the cragmites escaped, the last thing he wanted was to put Talwyn in danger... or any of the others for that matter. He looked into her face, and could not think of what it would be like if he had accidentally brought the cragmites here.

Talwyn's expression softened. She looked into Ratchet's eyes and saw the worry there. It was nice in a lot of ways; but not all. "You know, I _am_ a big girl now. I _can_ take care of myself." Ratchet felt blindsided and quickly backtracked. "No, I never meant that you couldn't or anything. I know you can. It's just..."

Ratchet's stammered reply was stopped cold. Talwyn had put her hand on his right arm. Unlike when she examined it earlier, there was actually sensation there now. And it was not pain...

The door to the terrarium cycled open. Talwyn withdrew her hand, but Ratchet could still feel the warmth on the fur of his arm where she had touched it.

Clank entered the terrarium. Seeing the two sitting there together, he gave a slight chuckle and began, "My apologies. I hope I was not interrupting anything." Ratchet's mind went back to all of the amused and innuendo loaded comments he made about Clank and his girlfriends. He'd have to remember that for next time... "No, not at all Clank..." Talwyn quickly added, "Indeed. Join us."

Clank shook his head slightly. "Actually, I have been going over everything I can remember about my encounter with the Zoni. While they were not specific about how to accomplish this task, I am certain that the dimensionator is the only logical way to do so. I am also certain that this should be done on the cragmite home world. I do not understand why this is the case, but I believe that this is the proper course of action. While I know a journey of this nature involves significant risk, I believe that this is our best opportunity for success."

Ratchet could not believe his ears. He felt the same way, but he just didn't know why. But if Clank felt the same... "I know whatcha mean, Clank. I'm not sure why, but it just 'feels right'. Plus I don't wanna lead the cragmites here if something goes wrong." He looked into Talwyn's eyes. "I don't know why, but it's gotta be this way."

Talwyn sighed and lowered her eyes to the ground. "I know. I just wish it could be different."

"Do not be alarmed, Talwyn," Clank began, "when we are done with the cragmites, we will return to help you search for your father."

Talwyn's eyes shot up to meet Clank's face. "That's true! With the dimensionator working again, we might be able to find him! Thanks Clank!" She kissed Clank on the top of his head. "You too, Ratchet!" and kissed him as well. She manifested the washer and handed it to the stunned lombax. Staring into the Ratchet's eyes, she whispered, "Be careful," and walked out of the terrarium.

Ratchet just sat there, his eyes alternating between the washer in his hand and the terrarium door that had closed behind her. He felt as though he had just attacked the Zoni again, and had gone completely numb from ears to tail with the jolt. His face had a blank, vacant look...

"Is everything all right?" Clank asked in a concerned voice.

Ratchet nodded dully, looked at the washer in his hand and then at Clank. "Yeah. Thanks. I'm okay." He sat for a few minutes. When did things get so complicated...?

* * *

Ratchet let loose with a final round from the judicator. The missiles found the cragmite and exploded in a hail of shrapnel and the occasional cragpole. They were not a problem, the toxic swarmers would deal with them...

He and Clank had HALO jumped out of Aphelion near the cragmite stronghold on Reepor. Since then, it had been a constant fight to get to the center of the citadel. While many of the cragmites had been killed during Tachyon's final stand on Fastoon, there were still plenty more of 'em here. Ratchet was shocked by the sheer numbers that had made it through the portals Tachyon opened. Clank and the Zoni were correct - they had to be put back into their dimensional prison. But while both Ratchet and Clank felt that this needed to happen from the point where Tachyon opened the portal, that was proving to be a lot harder than it sounded.

Ratchet was already tired. He had taken far too many hits from the powerful energy cannons on the cragmites' shoulders, and it showed. He could barely keep his head up under the weight of the dimensionator, his ears drooped and his tail sagged to the ground. But his destination was finally in sight. He and Clank had made it to the elevator that would take them to the broken bridge. It was here that Tachyon had taunted Ratchet about the damage his species had done to the cragmite home world, and where that Tachyon had ranted about the cragmites rising again. This had been the last battleground between the lombax and cragmite races. Well, it had been the last until Ratchet personally took charge of the battle on Meridian City and dealt with Tachyon on Fastoon. But, in a full circle, this broken citadel would once again witness the final confrontation between the cragmites and the lombaxes. Well... this lombax anyway...

As the elevator finally came to a stop, Ratchet carefully surveyed the area. He did not see any signs of cragmites up here. But there was one very welcome item - a crate of nanotech! He could use it! Ratchet took his omniwrench from his manifestor and smashed the crate. The nanotech sphere, no longer held in place by the fragile glass, swarmed into his body. He could feel the nanotech already starting to heal him, as the advertisements read, 'from the inside out'. To be honest, he didn't care how it worked, as long as it did. At least now he had the strength to hold his head up straight.

The bridge leading to the central dais where Tachyon stood was still damaged, chunks of it fallen into the abyss below. Ratchet never remembered that fall, but he did remember waking up alone. Looking over his shoulder at Clank, he thought he had lost his friend forever.

Shaking his head to break the dark mood, Ratchet began to search for a way across. There - over to the side was a swingshot target. It wasn't there last time, but he supposed that someone put it there until the bridge was fixed. Whatever the reason, he intended to make the best of it.

Grappling on to the floating sphere, he used his swingshot to cross the chasm. He landed lightly on the dais where Tachyon had first opened the portal. Ratchet looked at the stone floor, remembering the look on Qwark's face, trapped under the mechanical foot of the emperor's throne.

Clank disengaged the connecting bolt that secured him to Ratchet's backpack straps. He jumped to the ground and moved to stand next to his friend. Their eyes travelled around the citadel; the rivers of oozing green magma sputtered from the tortured depths of Reepor, a pollution and smoke haze filled sky overhead and the stench of decay was all around them.

Clank looked up at Ratchet and nodded. Ratchet felt it too; this was the right spot. For whatever reason, it was fitting that it should end here. There was a strange symmetry to it. He put his hand on Clank's shoulder, closed his eyes and said in a loud voice, "Dimensionator: exile the cragmites!" He pulled the starter cord on the dimensionator, and the device opened.

The first (and last) time he used the dimensionator was to escape the abyss Tachyon had dragged them into. That time, he saw a burst of white light, felt a brief pain in his head, got dizzy and blacked out. He came to a little later; a bit disoriented, but no worse for wear.

This time was far worse. He saw a familiar blinding white light that was painful to look at, but Ratchet could not tear his eyes away. The cragmites had already taken up residence or gone into hiding on three different worlds: Reepor, Igliak and Fastoon. In the glare of the dimensionator, he could see all three of these worlds at once, along with several cragmite ships that moved between them: most in normal space but a few were in transit through wormholes. He could see each individual cragmite or cragpole and watched as a rift opened above them and pulled them into the dimension known only as X2-49. But as each rift opened, Ratchet could feel a ripping pain in his head to match; as though a part of himself was also torn apart as it formed.

It hurt.

A lot.

Each portal was a little worse than the one before it.

There were a lot of cragmites.

It lasted for a really long time.

* * *


	4. Chapter 02

**Chapter 2: The Court of Azimuth**

Ratchet gradually became aware of a high pitched humming; the sound of a thruster running at full power. There was also a strange buffeting sensation, as though he was travelling at very high velocity. Listening to the thruster, he recognized the sound...

"Aphelion?" he muttered weakly. "Clank?"

"I am here, Ratchet. Are you all right?" Clank's voice was the same as always, but he could sense the concern there.

"Yeah, I think so." Ratchet's head was pounding. "What happened? Where are we?" He slowly opened his eyes. He was sitting in Aphelion's pilot seat, but he was not strapped in. He was crumpled against the outer hull as though he had been dropped there. Looking through the canopy, Ratchet could see that they were in a wormhole, but he was having a trouble focusing on the blurry indicators to read the destination.

Aphelion took his request for a location literally. "We are approximately five thousand kilocubits from Reepor, on course for the Apogee Space Station in the Nundac Asteroid Ring. We were both very worried about you."

Ratchet's head was starting to clear. He looked at Clank in the co-pilot's seat. He was strapped in as always, and the dimensionator was lying on the cabin floor at his feet. Well, in the vacant leg well - Clank's legs were a bit short and his feet were just resting on the seat as always. Ratchet squirmed around a little, getting into a comfortable position in the pilot's seat. He strapped himself in and looked at the indicators. They were currently locked on autopilot and all things appeared normal. Placing his hands on the controls, he said to Aphelion, "I'm fine; and, thanks, both of you. I can take it from here. You can give me back manual whenever you like." Aphelion responded, "Switching to manual control. Good to have you back..." Ratchet smiled and threw the ship into a tight barrel roll to the left. Aphelion sighed and commented softly, "Will this lombax ever grow up?" Clank chuckled, "Probably not..."

Once they leveled out, Ratchet looked over at Clank. "What happened back there? How'd we get into Aphelion?"

Clank began to explain. "When you pulled the cord on the dimensionator, the device opened and there was a significant amount of energy discharged. I did not perceive any rift opening in our immediate vicinity. You appeared to go rigid, screamed out in pain..."

Ratchet was a little embarrassed. "I screamed?" So much for 'toughing it out' and his stoic image...

Clank looked at his friend and could not understand his concern. "Yes. You appeared to be in a great deal of pain. After a few minutes the energy discharges ceased and the dimensionator closed. You lost consciousness. I tried to wake you, but I could not succeed. I called Aphelion. She maneuvered directly under the bridge with the canopy open. I dragged you over to the edge and lowered you as best as I could into the seat. Once this was done, I asked Aphelion to set course for the Apogee Station at the fastest possible speed." Clank shook his head. "Ratchet, you have been unconscious for almost an hour."

* * *

Ratchet blinked. Almost an hour? It didn't seem that long. But then, it felt like the dimensionator was open for a lot more than 'a few minutes'. He explained to Clank what he had experienced with the dimensionator, how he could "see" each individual cragmite on the three worlds or in space, how they were sucked into the portals that formed above them. Ratchet also briefly touched on how he felt 'something' each time a portal opened. He didn't go into detail about that, or say how many portals were opened.

Clank looked at him critically. He suspected that Ratchet had left a significant amount of detail out of his retelling. "Ratchet, I am very concerned. I suspect that the dimensionator may be causing you injury. The last time you used it, you also lost consciousness. It is possible that the device is malfunctioning or is unstable." Ratchet looked down at the dimensionator. "Yeah, Clank, that's probably it. If it's the same one the lombaxes used to end the Great War, it's probably just old. But it got rid of the cragmites - that's all that counts, right?"

Clank was about to provide his feedback on that particular assessment when Ratchet interrupted him. "We better check in with Talwyn. Aphelion, open a link." There was a soft warning tone, and the display illuminated with Talwyn's very worried face. "Ratchet? Are you okay? Clank told us what happened. We were about to come get you, but he told us you're already on the way. We've got the med center primed and ready. What happened?"

Ratchet gave Clank a dirty looked and turned back to the monitor. "I'm okay. The dimensionator knocked me out again; nothing important. Look, have you heard anything about the cragmites? I think it worked, but I'm not sure." Talwyn shook her head. "Nothing yet. But I heard a report about some new fighting in Meridian City. The people were pushing back the emperor's forces." Ratchet nodded. "It's probably related. Look, I'm okay, so you don't need the med center. But could you do me a favor? Grab Rusty Pete and head over to the Kreeli Comet. I want you to check with IRIS - find out if all the cragmites are back in dimension X2-49. She should know if they're all gone or not. Pete'll be able to get you passed any pirates that might still be there." Talwyn nodded.

"As long as you're with IRIS, see what she knows about the dimensionator. It seems to work, but I'm sure these blackouts aren't good. See if she knows anything about it." Talwyn did not look happy with that part. "You're not telling me something. What happened?"

Ratchet tried to cover it over quickly. "Nothing. Clank and I are gonna redirect to Fastoon and see if there's anything we can find out about the dimensionator. There might be some records in the Court of Azimuth. I'd like to check and see if there's anything."

Talwyn was a little suspicious. "Okay. After we finish up with IRIS, we'll swing by Fastoon and meet up with you..."

"No." Ratchet replied, a little too quickly. "There might still be cragmites or drophyds there. I have one other thing I need to do, and it might take me a few days..."

Talwyn froze and stared at her video display, as though trying to read his face and eyes. Ratchet could see the concern on her face. She asked in a sad voice, "You're going to look for the lombaxes, aren't you?"

Ratchet nodded. "I just wanna let 'em know that it's safe to come back. It'll be no big deal. I'll be back in a few days. It's not like I'm plannin' on leavin' or anything." Talwyn hesitated, and Ratchet could see that she _was_ worried about just that. His tone softened, "Look, I promise - I'll be back in a few days, and we can start looking for your father. I don't plan on staying any longer than I have to. I just wanna let 'em know Tachyon's gone."

Talwyn was silent for a moment, caught in what seemed to be some indecision of her own. But then she lowered her head slightly. "Okay... I know how much it means to you." She looked into the video again and her eyes hardened. "But remember your promise. I expect to hear from you as soon as you're back. Talwyn, out." The display went dark, and there was silence in the ship.

They flew on in silence for a few minutes. Clank's eyes were fixed on Ratchet, trying to understand his friend's motives. Ratchet just stared into the shifting colors and patterns of the wormhole, trying to answer that same unspoken question. "This used to be sooooo much easier," he muttered. "Aphelion, adjust course for Fastoon."

* * *

The sun was starting to sink low in the sky of the southern horizon of Fastoon. A warm breeze swirled along the dry soil, stirring up thin clouds of dust that hung low to the ground before dissipating. The shadows from the lamp posts started to grow long though the central plaza, and the gear sculpture in the center of the square reflected the sunlight at odd angles, penetrating the shadows in the doorways surrounding it.

Aphelion landed on the space port pad overlooking the plaza. "Why not let me drop you off directly in the Court of Azimuth?" Aphelion asked Ratchet. "I could save you a bit of walking."

Ratchet looked out through the canopy at the desolate landscape in front of him. "I know, but I just wanna take a look through the city, and the monument. Talwyn's update from IRIS said the cragmites are gone, but there still might be drophyds around. Just being careful..." He and Clank climbed out of Aphelion. Ratchet reached in and pulled out the dimensionator. "Look, this'll probably take a few days. I'd like you to return to Talwyn at the Station; but keep a frequency active. As soon as we get back, Clank and I'll get in touch and ask for a pickup."

"Maybe I should just stay in orbit, provide a little cover fire..."

Ratchet looked at the long trail and crater in the packed soil of the plaza. Aphelion had crashed here during the Drophyd War while providing cover fire, and he did not intend to let that happen again.

"No. There might be drophyds around. I want you to stay close to the Station and keep an eye on 'em."

"Very well. But I will keep a communication port open. Be careful." Aphelion closed the canopy and lifted off on autopilot. When she had cleared the plaza and was well into the upper atmosphere, Ratchet turned to Clank. "Nice time to ask, but are you sure you wanna go through with this? You don't have to, you know..."

Clank gave him one of 'those' looks. "Ratchet, there is no need for concern. I am interested in meeting your people as well. Besides... What would you do without me?" Ratchet turned to his friend with a smile. "You're right. Thanks. It's good to have you." Clank looked up at Ratchet. His sensors could tell that Ratchet was significantly more nervous than he wanted to admit.

They stopped at the GrummelNet weapons vendor and Ratchet topped off his ammunition supply. He already had all of the nanotech he needed, so he didn't buy any more. He even had the nano-pak in his manifestor. That was a handy little device he picked up while searching for Qwark on Zeldrin. It carried an extra jolt of nanotech and delivered it if he got _really_ hurt. It'd saved his tail a few times, and he wanted it fully charged.

He was about to put the dimensionator into his manifestor when Clank stopped him. "Ratchet, I attempted to do that earlier when you were unconscious on Reepor. I was unable to add the dimensionator to my manifestor. I can only speculate that there are elements in its construction that are either unstable or are unable to be scanned by the control crystal." Ratchet tried his manifestor. It too refused to accept the dimensionator. "Hmmm... I'm not sure why. But, then again, I've never seen it stored before. Still, I'd hate to have to wear this thing for very long. It's really heavy."

Ratchet looked over the plaza, his eyes drawn to the broken monument in the center. The gears had been made of a trillium alloy; even the most determined drophyd and cragmite attacks had not completely destroyed its beauty. Even from up here, Ratchet could make out the intricate workmanship and the attention to detail. The inlay work, the delicately carved gear teeth, the alloys mixed in such a way that the surface had a speckled, grainy appearance... His eyes caught the faint puffs of dust in the courtyard. He knew some were caused by the eddying breezes. But not all of them... "We've got company," he told Clank. Clank nodded. "I am not surprised."

Ratchet removed his somewhat worn terraflux armor from his manifestor. After all he had been through, he had more than enough bolts to upgrade to trillium. But Ratchet had tried it on at the GrummelNet vendor; the helmet was just too restrictive and he felt like he couldn't breathe right. He knew it was just in his head, probably from his DreadZone days. But he just didn't like it. So he stuck with the weaker, but far more comfortable terraflux. Plus, it didn't bind his tail (an important point for the lombax) and 'looked cooler'...

He changed out of his old navy and tan flight suit from Kerwan, strapped the nano-pak to his chest (just in case) and put on the terraflux armor. Ratchet reluctantly strapped the dimensionator on his head, having no other place to store it. It's weight made him a little off balance and top heavy. He tossed the flight suit into the manifestor, pulled out his combustor and moved toward the rocky platform overlooking the steep gorge that separated him from the plaza. Looking down, he saw the thorntrees blooming with their red spikes sticking out of their thick wooden vine-like trunks at odd angles. Ratchet smiled slightly, impressed at how deep red the spikes were. He could never get the spikes on his that red; he had a thorntree growing outside of his garage on Veldin. Well, what was left of his garage anyway; the tyhrranoids and rangers had flatted most of it a while back. The tree was still there, though. At least, he thought it was...

His eyes looking up and out across the gorge, he saw the swingshot floating above him. Ratchet turned to Clank and asked, "Ready?" Clank nodded and hopped onto the backpack socket, locking himself into place. He also activated his thruster pack upgrade, just in case. He knew Ratchet was prone to surprise acrobatics... Ratchet grappled onto it and swung across the chasm. Landing lightly, he stirred up some of the dry soil and watched as it was carried away on the wind. To his left was the crash landing site of Aphelion from so many years ago. The monument was directly in front of him. Just beyond it was the bridge the cragmites had set up to reach the Court of Azimuth. The bridge was still there, but there was no sign of any cragmites or drophyds that he could see.

As he started to cross the plaza, he saw motion at the corner of his eye. He had his combustor ready, and opened fire at the nanophyte that was watching him. This one carried a club, but he knew all too well that there were plenty more around, and that some were much better armed than this one. He would have to be careful. There were a few more nanophytes around, but the combustor made quick work of them.

He reached the central monument, and saw that the drophyds and cragmites had tried to take it down again, but failed. There were piles of rubble around the lowest levels, but the trillium gears near the top had survived more or less intact. Looking at the rubble, he gathered a few of the smaller pieces of the alloy (gear teeth that had been carved on the lower levels and broken off during the attacks) and put them into his manifestor as souvenirs. They might help convince the other lombaxes that he really came from Fastoon.

Ratchet jumped up to the next level and proceeded to climb up to the top of the monument. There was a zip line installed that ran downward to an empty alcove above the plaza. Last time he was here, Tachyon's forces had installed ground to air cannons there... The view was spectacular. Looking over the dusty plain and the broken ground, he was struck by how much Fastoon reminded him of Veldin. The hot, dusty air, the broken landscape, even the thorntrees all seemed very familiar to him. But then, maybe it should be that Veldin reminded him of Fastoon. Thinking back, the thorntrees were not everywhere on Veldin. In fact, except for the area around his garage, he had not seen any others...

"Ratchet, the sun is going down. Perhaps we should make our way to the Court of Azimuth while there is still light." Clank's suggestion was a practical one. On a whim, he jumped off the top of the monument and did a tuck and roll. Clank's thruster pack slowed the descent, and he landed safely on his feet. Ratchet smiled, said a quick, "Thanks Clank" and walked over to the bridge.

It was still in good condition. The only remarkable thing about the bridge was the control panel. At the base of the controls was a small pile of disturbed soil as though something had done a lot of kicking. Ratchet remembered the horrible visions from the dimensionator - there had been a cragmite here, standing guard over the control panel. The portal had opened and pulled him in just like the rest. Right now, he was probably enjoying his extended stay in dimension X2-49 with the others... The small mound of dirt was the only sign that the cragmite had ever been there.

Ratchet and Clank (riding on the backpack connecting bolt) crossed the bridge and slowly made their way into the courtyard. Tachyon's public address boards were sadly still in place, abandoned in the fall of their emperor, and their prerecorded messages continued to blare out over the emptiness. Even from this distance, Ratchet could hear their taunting words, 'Why do you fight for them, dear boy? Those creatures didn't even have the scruples to give you a name!' He took out his judicator and let fly with a round of missiles. The nearest board exploded into fragments of glass and metal, forever silenced. Ratchet began hunting the others down, destroying them one by one until the last vestige of Tachyon's voice was silenced on Fastoon.

But all of the running around had taken a bit of a toll on Ratchet, not only physically but emotionally as well. Tachyon's mockery and the desolation that was Fastoon were a sobering mix. And though he didn't really want to admit it, he was a little scared. Ratchet had never met another lombax in his life, and the thought of it filled him with a strange blend of excitement and dread. He wasn't sure what to expect. So, just as he paused before forcing his way into the Court of Azimuth for his final confrontation with Tachyon, Ratchet decided to collect his thoughts for a little while before moving forward.

"Clank, let's take a quick break," Ratchet said. Clank released the connecting bolt and dropped to the ground. He looked up at his friend curiously; and while he could see that Ratchet was certainly tired, Clank had seen in him far worse condition before. Studying Ratchet's face, he could see that there was a great deal of strain there. "All right, Ratchet."

Ratchet removed the dimensionator, moved towards one of the thorntrees and broke off a few dry thorns. Clank had seen Ratchet perform this ritual so many times on their journeys, especially when they were stuck on a primitive planet for any length of time. Ratchet would always put together some kind of temporary camp and build a fire. And while Clank was not sure exactly why Ratchet did this, he did enjoy the routine of it.

He especially enjoyed the campfire. Clank loved to stare into the depths of it, watching the chemical reactions take place in a flash of energy and plasma. His sensors were powerful enough that he could see the reactions at a molecular level, the swirling of fuel and oxygen in the presence of heat, leading to the release of multiple forms of energy. The glow of the flames in frequencies of light visible to organic life was only a small fraction of what was happening. It was a show that Clank always enjoyed, and no matter how many times he had seen it, it was always unique.

Ratchet cleared a small area on the steps leading into the Court of Azimuth, near the two control switches used to unlock the force field. He arranged the thorntree branches in a neat pile, leaving plenty of space for oxygen to enter. Satisfied, Ratchet took out his incinerator and gave a very short blast. The wooden branches caught readily in the fiery streams, and soon burned on their own without any additional fuel. Ratchet put the incinerator back in his manifestor and sat down in front of the fire. Clank joined him, and his eyes were drawn to the flames.

It was the first really quiet period they had experienced for a while. As Ratchet sat looking into the flames, he realized how hungry he was. Thinking back, he had not eaten anything since before Reepor. He glanced at Clank; sometimes he envied his friend for not having to rely on food, but there was usually at least a Galaxy Burger or something around. Sadly, not always... Ratchet sighed and retrieved a Nutristix package from his manifestor. Nutristix were handy in an emergency, but they tasted foul and were extremely unsatisfying. He might not enjoy it, but it would be enough 'food' to keep him going. Ratchet forced it down as quickly as he could and tossed the wrapper into the flames. It caught fire, burning with a multitude of different colors, betraying the sheer quantity of chemicals involved in its manufacture.

Clank looked over at Ratchet. He could see that the lombax was still not comfortable with the situation. "What is it, Ratchet? What is wrong?"

"I dunno, Clank," Ratchet replied heavily. "Just worried I guess. My whole life I've been the only lombax out there. Now I'm on my way to an entire dimension of 'em. I guess I'm just nervous. I'll be alright." He held his gloved hands out to the tiny fire. Clank's eyes were drawn by his movement, and a grin grew on Ratchet's face as he watched Clank's eyes become captivated by the flames once again.

* * *

After about an hour, the quick burning thorntree branches had already been consumed and the glow of sunset was barely visible on the horizon. The rapidly darkening sky was pierced by the brightest stars. Ratchet sat, staring into the ashes of the campfire, his thoughts a million cubits away and nearly twenty years in the past. Clank stood next to him and looked into Ratchet's face. "I know that this is difficult for you. You do not need to do this if you do not want to." The words roused Ratchet from his funk. "No, Clank. I do. It's time to let the lombaxes know they can come home." He stood, stomped out the remaining traces of the embers and scattered the ashes. He turned to Clank and put his hand on his shoulder. "Thanks for comin' with me," he said quietly, strapped on the heavy dimensionator and let the way into the Court of Azimuth.

The inner court was just as he had remembered it. The floor was heavily inlaid with a combination of rare crystals, raritanium and trillium alloys in a starburst pattern. Ornate columns towered up to a roof high above their heads. There were numerous balconies and alcoves surrounding the cavernous chamber. And while many enemies (cragmite, drophyd and time itself) had damaged the Court of Azimuth, it still represented the glory that had been the lombax race.

Ratchet moved to the dais in the center of the chamber. This was where Tachyon had first opened the rift to the lombax dimension in a taunting offer to allow him a temporary retreat. It was here that he launched his assault on him and Clank, where the dimensionator malfunctioned, sending Tachyon into the void. He stopped and shook his head slightly. The last thing Ratchet wanted to be thinking about right now was the dimensionator malfunctioning. He was nervous enough as it was.

He and Clank stood side by side on the dais. Looking down at Clank, he asked in a quiet voice, "Are you ready?" Clank nodded and gave him a small smile. Ratchet returned the smile, held Clank by the shoulder with one hand. "Dimensionator," he said, "Find the lombaxes." He pulled the cord.

The dimensionator started immediately and a single rift opened. But as with Ratchet's other uses of the dimensionator, there were problems. He thought it was bad when he exiled the cragmites, but he believed that it was just because of the number of rifts that were opened or the distances involved. Nothing had prepared him for this. Ratchet felt as if his brain was being torn in half, very slowly. His fur felt like it was on fire, burning with multicolor plasma tongues giving hints to his personal chemical composition as though he were a Nutristix wrapper. He could not move, he could not breathe. He was falling, and all he could do was hang on to the only solid item he could - the metal of Clank's shoulder.

* * *


	5. Chapter 03

**Chapter 3: First Impressions**

"Ratchet!"

"You must get up!"

"RATCHET!"

Ratchet's head pounded. Clank's voice seemed like it was coming from a hundred cubits underwater. He focused on the sound, trying to pull himself upward. "Clank?"

"RATCHET! You must get up!"

Ratchet slowly opened his eyes and saw two identical Clanks standing side by side in front of him. They both had a firm grip on his backpack straps and were shaking him lightly. "RATCHET!"

Slowly, the two Clanks of his double vision merged into a single blurry image. Clank was still holding his straps, but had stopped shaking him. Ratchet was glad that Clank still held on; he was not sure he could sit up on his own. "Clank?" he mumbled.

"Ratchet! You have been unconscious for just over two hours."

"Two...? Huh...?" He reached his hands to cover his aching head, and felt the dimensionator. He swatted at the straps holding the helmet on and released them. The dimensionator slid off his head and fell to the ground behind him with a loud thump. Free of the weight of the awkward device, Ratchet slowly sat up and was able to remain there unassisted. He covered his face with his gloved hands for a few minutes. Everything seemed to be spinning. Clank continued to speak to him, but Ratchet could not focus on the words. "Clank... gimme a minute... my head..." Clank stopped speaking and looked up at Ratchet in concern.

It took a little time, but the pounding in his head started to fade. Ratchet lowered the hands from in front of his face. Clank was standing in front of him, his eyes locked on his face and he had an extremely concerned look about him. Ratchet slowly looked around, but was not sure where they were.

The last thing he remembered was standing in the Court of Azimuth. They were now in an open area, similar to the plaza on Fastoon. A hot, dry wind circled around, picking up dried soil and lifting it in plumes from the parched ground. Looking at the planet's surface, he could see a long trail of disturbed dirt leading up to where he was sitting, and disappearing into the distance. The sky above was dark, and a large number of stars shone above them. Ratchet was completely unfamiliar with the patterns, and he could not recognize any of the constellations or navigational beacons that he was used to from the three galaxies he frequented. Closer to home, a few extremely tall thorntrees grew in a cluster off to his left, while a hedge of the same plants formed some kind of border on his right. The thorntree hedge looked like it was well cared for and was neatly trimmed. From inside the hedge, Ratchet could hear a slight scuffling sound, as though a small animal had nested there.

The throbbing slowly subsided, and he was finally able focus. Ratchet looked into Clank's eyes and could see how concerned his friend was. "Okay. Sorry about that. I'm feeling a bit better now. Where are we?"

"I do not know, Ratchet. The dimensionator opened a portal and we were transported to this world. When the rift opened, you..." Clank remembered his friend's reaction to the word 'screamed' last time and that Ratchet tried to hide further details. He started over, choosing his words carefully. "When the rift opened, you went completely still. It appeared as though you were in a significant amount of discomfort. When the rift finally closed, you lost consciousness again. You have been unconscious for just over two hours. Because we were in an exposed, high traffic area, I dragged you over to this relatively secluded location. I have been trying to wake you ever since. What do you remember from the dimensionator?"

"It was horrible," Ratchet began, "far worse than last time." He was still a little disoriented and didn't think or care about his choice of words. "It felt like I was being ripped in half and set on fire." Clank was aghast. He had suspected that Ratchet held back on his retelling the last time the dimensionator was used, but this was even worse than he had predicted. Ratchet continued, "I felt like I was falling, sliding away. And then I was here and you were tryin' to wake me." Ratchet looked behind him and dragged the dimensionator over to him from where it had slipped off his head.

Clank shook his head grimly. "Ratchet, you must not hold back information from me, or I will not be able to process the situation accurately. Did you experience this kind of pain when you exiled the cragmites?"

Ratchet opened the top of the dimensionator and began examining the mechanisms inside. "A lotta pain, but not nearly as bad. Last time there were a lotta portals, though. Thousands. I didn't even try to count." Ratchet, distracted by his probing into the exposed systems of the dimensionator, rambled a bit. "Each cragmite was pulled through its own portal, and each one felt like a rip in my head. Not too bad individually, but there were a lot of 'em. Each one was a little worse than the one before. It seemed to go on forever." Ratchet looked up from the dimensionator to Clank. "I can't find anything wrong with this. If there's a problem, it's not something obvious." He closed the top.

Clank shook his head. "You must not use the dimensionator again. If your assessment is correct, and the reactions are becoming more severe with each use, it is highly likely that repeated exposure could be very dangerous, perhaps leading to permanent injury."

Ratchet shook his head. He wasn't surprised. "Believe me, I don't wanna use it again. We'll still need it to get home, though. But I don't want this thing on my head any more than I have to..." He looked over to the cluster of thorntrees. "Clank, wha'd'y'say we hide it? We can always come back for it later, and we'll be able to move a lot faster than if we're carryin' it around." Clank's eyes brightened slightly. He did not want Ratchet wearing the device at all. "I would recommend that you remove the washer first. Without it, the dimensionator will not function." Ratchet nodded, "Good idea." He opened the top of the dimensionator again and removed the three and three quarter centicubit hexagonal washer that the plumber had given them. It still smelled slightly like a sewer. "Clank, hang on to this." He gave the washer to Clank, who stored it in his grill manifestor.

Ratchet stood, a little unsteadily at first, but with growing confidence. He brought the dimensionator over to the cluster of thorntrees. Ratchet looked up into the towering mass of entangled vines with the long red spikes growing out from them.

"You know, Clank, it funny... These same trees have been on all the lombax planets we've been on. They were growin' all over the place on Fastoon, and they seem common here. I even had one growing outside my garage on Veldin, but I don't think it was native. I wonder if they've been transplanted..." He studied the cluster and noticed how the vine-like trunks intertwined. Using the chin straps of the dimensionator, he fastened the device onto his backpack straps and began to climb the thorntree. But he was not able to make progress; his boots kept slipping off the red thorns. Puzzled, Ratchet looked up at the thorntree again.

"I used to climb the one on Veldin all the time as a kit. Why 'm I having so much trouble ..." It hit him. Ratchet bent down and removed his boots. Standing barefoot on the dusty soil, he started climbing again. This time, his feet were able to stay on the thorns without sliding off; with his boots on, he just couldn't get the grip he remembered. "Thaaaaat's better," Ratchet said, and a smile crept onto his face. It felt good to climb, and it brought back a lot of memories. He was enjoying himself immensely when he heard Clank call out from far below him, "Uh, Ratchet... The dimensionator?"

Ratchet looked down and saw Clank almost twenty cubits below him. He had not realized how high he had climbed already, or how easy (and let's face it, how much fun) it was. But he was here for a reason... "Okay. Gimme a sec..." Ratchet reached out toward the red thorns. This high on the plant, they were still somewhat pliable. Ratchet was able to weave a few of them together, forming a small but surprisingly stable platform. He put his own weight on it to test its strength, and after verifying that it would hold him, he carefully wedged the dimensionator into position. Satisfied, he looked down again. With a smile and a whole lot of memories on his mind, he moved toward the outermost thorns and prepared to jump.

Clank called up in alarm, "Ratchet, you are too high. Without the thruster pack, your fall will..." Too late. Ratchet leaped, performed a somersault in midair and landed in a tuck and long series of rolls to spread out his kinetic energy across the hard packed dirt below. He bounced up to his feet with a huge grin on his face. Clank just shook his head in amazement.

Ratchet looked up at the night sky. Nothing was familiar, but the stars were extremely bright in contrast to the darkness between them. Trying to get an estimate of the time, Ratchet looked for but could not detect any difference in the amount of light from any direction that would indicate a sunrise approaching. He thought they had at least a few hours until daybreak. "Why don't we go back to where we arrived. You said it was exposed; maybe we can build a fire and attract somebody's attention." Clank nodded.

Ratchet put his boots back on and snapped off the lower, brittle thorns of the cluster. "We might as well make it a little harder for someone else to climb," he said. "Plus we could use the fuel." When he had a bundle of dry thorns, he and Clank walked toward the arrival point, following the drag marks in the soil. Ratchet was stunned how far the little robot had dragged him without any help. He looked at Clank, "You really hauled me all this way? Thanks! That must've been rough." Clank looked up, "I had to get you out of the open. This was the only option I had."

Ratchet could understand why. Up ahead was an open area, but it was obviously well trafficked. There was a paved stone path with a sharp curve along the packed soil. The drag marks stopped immediately at that point. There was a public hydro fountain at the curve of the path and a lamp post above it, spilling a pool of light onto the curve, the fountain, and presumably where Ratchet would have been lying unconscious. "I see whatcha mean. Let's camp here and see if anyone wanders by."

The moved a little off the path, back onto the hard packed soil. Ratchet once again built a small structure of thorntree fragments and lit them with the incinerator. It quickly ignited and the two of them sat down. Clank's eyes were drawn to the flame while Ratchet forced down another Nutristix, chasing it with enough fountain water to kill the taste. He surveyed the area. The path led down from the curve to an opening in the hedge on one end and continued across the dry soil down a small hill on the other end. Beyond the hill, he could see the tops of a number of thorntrees towering up over them and heard but could not see several small creatures scurrying about in them. Looking over at the opening in the hedge, he could see a faint haze of some form of artificial light pollution in the distance.

Keeping a close eye on the distracted Clank, he moved toward the opening in the hedge. Beyond it, he could see towering buildings in the distance, tapering slightly as they approached their apex. On their roofs, the buildings appeared to have some form of antennae or energy transfer units of some kind. But just as in the portal that Tachyon had opened, they reminded Ratchet of lombax ears... The towers themselves were mostly darkened, but there were occasional lights scattered throughout their surfaces. Perhaps a few night workers or people (lombaxes! he reminded himself) up late. He smiled at the normalcy of it all. The scene reminded Ratchet very much of a late night in Metropolis - the city air corridors were always quiet and the pedways nearly vacant. While the architecture was different, a city would always be the same...

Looking through the hedge, he saw that it ran for a great distance on either side, and that the entire 'structure' seemed to be on a grassy hill. In the distance, he could see what appeared to be a taxi stand and a landing area for vehicles. There were none parked there at this time of night, however. It seemed that Ratchet and Clank had the area to themselves. Ratchet stood mesmerized by the architecture and the general feel of the city. It seemed so... proper. Based on the design and layout that he could see from this vantage point, there was a logic here that reminded him of the layout of Fastoon. But while Fastoon was a dead and abandoned world with nothing but ruins and small creatures scavenging for shreds of lombax technology, here was a vibrant place alive with the work, the culture and the society of his people going about their lives. He smiled; the lombaxes had built themselves a new home.

* * *

A sound from up the path broke Ratchet's mood. He turned quickly, but did not see anyone. He hurried back to Clank, who also heard the sound and stood facing the other end of the path. Ratchet stood next to him, his left hand on Clank's shoulder.

They watched as a figure slowly climbed up the hill. It was another lombax! The newcomer was a full head taller than Ratchet was. His ears were perked and alert, with a yellow base color, but with orange and brown stripes along their length. His furry muzzle was a little longer than Ratchet's, but not by very much, and his light blue eyes reflected both the light from the campfire and the lamp post by the fountain. The lombax was dressed in what looked like a uniform; a camouflage mottling of stone white, soil tan and thorntree brown with red accents. The camouflage part of the uniform consisted of the work shirt and heavy jeans, but the lombax wore standard brown leather-like gloves and heavy work boots. Both the shirt and jeans had a large number of pockets on them, some empty, some bulging with a hidden cargo. There was a reinforced opening on the back of his jeans for his tail. The lombax's tail was longer than Ratchet's and curved slightly upward as he walked. There were yellow and orange rings along the entire length, and there was a bright orange tuft at the very end. The lombax's hands were empty, but both Ratchet and Clank could see a manifestor crystal on his right glove and a control panel of some sort with crystals of various colors on his left.

The other lombax spotted them and started to hurry down the path towards them. Ratchet and Clank stayed still and waited. When the stranger was halfway to them he called out, "Hey! Didn't you get the alert?" Ratchet and Clank looked at each other and Ratchet answered truthfully, "No... What alert?" The newcomer came into the circle of firelight. "It seems the ministry's running another drill. They don't want folks outside after dark and they've got us patrolling again. What brings you out this late?"

Ratchet wanted to try to find out more about this, and the ministry. "We were camping and out of touch. We didn't hear anything about it. Do we need to put the fire out or anything?"

"Nah. No harm. Mind if I join you for a minute? Park patrol has got to be one of the most boring duties you can pull, and there's no one to talk to." Ratchet and Clank stared at the lombax. Park?? That made sense. "Oh, I dunno," Ratchet said. "I kinda like it. It's relaxing; nice and peaceful. And the stars are so clear without the city glow."

"Yeah, that's true," the newcomer said looking up with a bit of a smile. "Still, I've been on nights far too long - I wouldn't mind seeing the sun for a change." He hesitated... "It's been a long shift; I don't suppose you've got anything to eat on you," he said, eying Ratchet's manifestor. Ratchet shook his head sadly, "I wish! I have some Nutristix, but that's it. You're welcome to 'em, if you really want 'em." The lombax shuddered. "No thanks, I'm not that desperate. They must have enough of 'em stockpiled to last through the next epoch! Last time I had to choke one of 'em down was on one of Neutrino's fitness courses." Ratchet and Clank just looked at each other, puzzled. The newcomer continued, "I got stuck on one a few months back. Miserable time. Survival training, physical fitness, the works. All because I ran an errand and delivered a note from the PM to Neutrino. Neutrino reads the note, busts out laughin' and as a 'reward' assigns me to one of his nightmare courses."

"Who is Neutrino?" Clank asked. "He sounds like he is involved with the military around here."

"Yeah, he's in charge of the LDM for the region. He's got an office just a few blocks to the west o' here. By the way, name's Richard Quantum... Rich. I'm one of Neutrino's _oh-so-lucky_ deputies."

"Nice to meet you, Rich. I'm Ratchet, and this is Clank. LDM?"

Rich seemed very surprised by the question, and answered carefully, word by word, "Lombax. Defense. Ministry. He's the regional minister..." Rich's voice trailed off as he eyed the two suspiciously. "Where are you from?"

Ratchet tried to dodge the question, "Actually, we're a little lost at the moment. Where are we?"

"You're in Azimuth Park in Region 9 on New Fastoon in the Leonid Galaxy. Where are you from?"

Ratchet tried a little humor, "Funny you should mention Fastoon..."

Rich's eyes widened. With an agility Ratchet had never seen before, Deputy Rich Quantum dove to his right, rolled and dodged to stand blocking the gap in the thorntree hedge. He touched the red crystal on his left glove, and then touched the manifestor crystal on his right glove. A combustor appeared in his right hand. From the vicinity of Rich's left glove a voice spoke - "Dispatch." Rich did not take his eyes off Ratchet and Clank, but spoke in a loud and clear voice, "Infiltrator! I repeat, Infiltrator! Region 9 Sector A Grid 7 beta. This is not a drill!"

* * *

Ratchet and Clank looked at each other for an instant, and then Ratchet turn to Rich, stepped in front of Clank, spread his open hands at his sides and said, "What?!" Rich fired a single combustor round that hit Ratchet in his right thigh, just above his knee. While the terraflux armor prevented the round from causing any damage, the impact still stung. "Hey! Come on! We just wanna talk..." The second combustor round hit Ratchet's left thigh in almost the exact same location. Ratchet realized that the shots were not intended to kill, but had he not been wearing the armor, they would have certainly immobilized him. If it wasn't for the armor... CLANK!

Ratchet grabbed the unarmored, unprotected robot and practically threw him onto the connecting bolt. Clank locked on and enabled his thruster upgrade. Ratchet dashed down the path and dove over the hill. There was a stand of the thorntrees that he had seen previously, but the path led through a very wide expanse of open area, with only dusty packed soil on either side. There was no cover. Another combustor shot rang in the air, ricocheting off the stonework of the path at the crest of the hill.

Ratchet was digging through his manifestor. The lombax certainly didn't want to kill the deputy, but he did want to at least hold him there and make him drop his weapon. As he scrolled through the inventory, he became aware that it was quiet - too quiet. He picked up a pebble and tossed it to the hilltop. A single combustor round rang out again, but the shot was fired from much closer. Rich was approaching his position, and had the advantage of being on higher ground.

Ratchet kicked his boots off and climbed up the thorntree. It was an easy climb and he was able to get some altitude without Rich noticing. He was about six cubits above the hilltop when Rich reached the lamp post on the path. His combustor was still drawn and he was carefully working his way toward the hilltop. Ratchet searched through his heavily upgraded arsenal for something that would let him hold the deputy without killing him... ...hold him...

Ratchet selected the mag-net cannon from the manifestor and held it in his hands. Clank said out loud, "No, Ratchet!" At the sound of Clank's voice, Quantum swung and trained the combustor at the robot. Before he could fire, Ratchet pulled the trigger on the mag-net, launching a tightly wadded mesh of energy that expanded to encase Rich in an electrically charged web. Ratchet jumped down, assisted by Clank's thruster pack, put his boots back on and walked carefully over to Rich.

Ratchet watched as the deputy was held convulsing in the electrical web. The net was shocking him with several rather powerful jolts. It was awful to watch, but then the mag-net had been upgraded... Ratchet's eyes widened, and he swore. He forgot that he had upgraded the net to deal with the cragmites. Not only were the jolts more powerful, but there was a ring of high explosive mines around the edges designed to finish off whatever was trapped in the net when it dissipated.

Ratchet watched very carefully - he would have to time this perfectly. As soon as the net began to fade, Ratchet threw himself forward through the dissolving strands of the web and knocked the dazed deputy clear. There were dozens of tiny secondary explosions as the mines around the perimeter of the net went off and bounced in every direction. Ratchet was caught in the blast from more than one of them, but the terraflux armor was able to block most of it. When the booming subsided, he got up, looked down the path and froze in horror.

Deputy Richard Quantum, the only other lombax he had ever met, was sprawled in the pool of light formed by the lamp post. He was not moving.

* * *


	6. Chapter 04

**Chapter 4: Cat and Mouse**

Ratchet ran forward. He reached the fallen deputy, but it was clear that Rich was very badly hurt. Not only had the discharges from the net severely injured him, but he also caught at least one of the mine blasts himself. Ratchet reached for and found a pulse, but it felt weak and thready. There was no time.

He reached under his armor and ripped off the nano-pak strapped to his chest. The cling straps that held the device securely against him released, but caught again on the fur on his back. He was so occupied that he didn't even feel the fur being pulled out, but he saw clumps of yellow and orange along the bonding areas. No time...

He flipped the nano-pak over so that the delivery plate was facing towards Rich. Ratchet ripped open the deputy's shirt and pressed the nano-pak firmly against his fur, so that it made contact with Rich's skin below. "Come on...", Ratchet repeated, "Come on... Scan already..." The nano-pak issued an alarm tone and released a jolt of nanotech through the delivery plate. Rich convulsed and his pulse immediately improved. He stirred and groaned slightly. He was still in bad shape, but at least he was no longer in immediate danger.

Clank said, "We have to get moving." Ratchet nodded, "I know, I know..." No time... Ratchet grabbed for the deputy's left hand. Pulling it to him, he pressed the red crystal on the glove's control panel and waited... No time... "Dispatch." Ratchet practically shouted at the glove, "Medical emergency!" "Acknowledged. Stand by for medical teleport..." Ratchet dropped the deputy's hand and threw himself backward. There was a sudden burst of light followed by silence. When the glare subsided, Rich was gone.

* * *

Ratchet took a few deep breaths to steady himself, made sure that Clank was secure on the connecting bolt, made sure he had all his gear and carefully edged his way through the gap in the thorntree hedge. There was no sign of anyone nearby. The sky on the horizon to the west was starting to grow brighter, as though sunrise was approaching.

But the injury to the deputy changed things. Ratchet had hoped to come into the city, find an official and pass along the information about Tachyon. But if Rich's reaction was anything like what he could expect from the other lombaxes, this might not be as easy as he thought. "Clank, what do we do now? Turn ourselves in? Let them capture us? Rich wasn't shooting to kill, but he was still shooting..." Clank thought about it. "Perhaps we should try to go to the Lombax Defense Ministry office directly. If we can find the regional minister, he may be able to relay our message. Deputy Quantum said that the office was a few blocks to the west of this location. Perhaps we can get there before we are discovered." Ratchet doubted they would be that lucky, but agreed that it was worth a try.

Ratchet and Clank stepped through the hedge and looked out over the city below them. In the brightening sky, details that were not visible under the city glow and starlight became more apparent. The streets appeared to be made of some kind of stone, edged with a metallic alloy; the buildings were decorated in much the same manner as those on Fastoon, with intricate inlay and mechanical motifs; the whole city seemed poised, waiting for daybreak to start its cycle of life again. Ratchet's mood lifted looking out over the city. Just as he had felt a strange kind of kinship with the ruins on Fastoon, he felt the same here. But this city was alive!

Ratchet began to slowly make his way down the grassy slope when he heard a noise in the distance. There was the sound of thrusters of some sort, but they sounded very small; very far away. He hastened his decent and the sound grew louder. Straining his eyes toward the city, he saw something in the air approaching him. They were very small - he could barely make them out. He quickened his pace further. The sun broke the plane of the horizon and the dawn light reflected off dozens of very small objects in the air. Looking closely, they almost appeared to be a flock of tiny toy fighters, each maybe a few centicubits in length, with dual thrusters and tiny missile launchers... Toys... He saw a streak of light from one of the tiny missile launchers and jumped quickly to his left. The ground he had been standing on exploded into the air, and a shower of soil, grass and rock trickled down to settle over the divot carved by the tiny missile. Ratchet broke into a run.

The tiny fighters sent another missile in his direction, and another. But he was able to dodge them, the explosions gouging huge holes into the hillside. Clank's antenna probe pulsed rapidly. "Ratchet, they are drones." "Good!" Given the firepower demonstrated by those missiles, Ratchet was not in the mood to 'play nice'; he summoned his tempest launcher from the manifestor. While on the run, he fired a disk in the general direction of the airborne drones, and as the tornado formed, he steered it with his glove. Lightning flashed from the funnel cloud created by the disk, striking a few of the drones directly and causing their missiles to explode prematurely. Others were caught in the vortex itself and shredded, their explosions briefly flaring in the wall of the funnel cloud. By the time the disk had spun down and the tornado collapsed, the tiny fighters were gone.

Ratchet and Clank made it to the base of the grassy embankment and now stood at the landing pad and taxi stand. There were still no vehicles on the pad, but there was a taxi available. He climbed on board and said in a loud voice "Regional Headquarters, Lombax Defense Ministry". The taxi floated away from the stand.

They had only gone one block to the west when an alarm rang inside the taxi. A red flashing warning indicator appeared on the dashboard, and the taxi sank to the ground. It landed harshly and at a sharp angle, spilling Ratchet and Clank over the edge. The taxi powered down and remained inert. The only light that remained illuminated on the entire machine was the flashing warning indicator. Clank looked over and read it. "Hmmm... Override. The taxi has been deactivated remotely." Ratchet was getting frustrated, "Aw, come on! We're tryin' to turn ourselves in without gettin' blown up! Give us a break!"

As if in answer, they heard the rumble of some kind of heavy vehicles coming down the road toward them from in front, on their right flank and behind them. "Come on Clank. Let's get out of here!" They turned left and started running down the street, only to hear the same rumble directly in front of them, but slightly to the left. From one of the side avenues on the left a very large multi tube rocket launcher appeared. It appeared to hover in midair. As it continued to advance from the side avenue, the supporting structure for the turret became obvious: a motorized launch platform, with heavy metal plates protecting the firing and aiming mechanisms of the launcher, supported on tall, widely spaced heavy treads. The platform turned the corner and the barrel of the weapon homed in on Ratchet and Clank. Clank's antenna pulsed again. "Drone", he said. "I'm not sure that helps this time," Ratchet replied. "From the look of that plating, these things look pretty tough." He pulled out his alpha cannon and let it charge. The rocket launcher pulsed and a volley of missiles flared out, spreading out in a wide pattern. Ratchet swore and dove to the base of the platform, scrambling to get underneath it between the treads and behind it. The flight of the rockets tracked his position, and began striking the drone in a hail of explosions. Ratchet was thrown clear as they began destroying the drone for him. He aimed the fully charged alpha cannon at extremely short range and finished the job. A thick smoke began to rise from the missile platform.

Three more turrets began to come down the street toward his position. Ratchet threw a few toxic swarmer nests between himself and the drones. He had no illusion that they would stop these huge missile platforms, but he hoped that they might be able to take out a few of the missiles in flight. Charging the alpha cannon once again, he sent a beam down the narrow street, piercing at least one of the drones, possible damaging a second as well. He did not wait to find out about the third. He dashed up a side street, trying to resume his westward course.

As they continued westward into the rising sun, he heard a whistling sound overhead and dove for cover. There was no explosion, however, but there was the sound of breaking glass. A thin film of smoke formed along the ground to his left and in front of him. Ratchet turned to his right and heard more whistling. He dove forward, but again, no explosions. Just breaking glass. And smoke. A blue-grey smoke was drifting along the pavement of the street in his direction. Ratchet smelled something -

Ratchet held his breath and put on his O2 mask. "Clank! Are you okay?" Clank's response was very calm. "I am fine, Ratchet. The smoke does appear to be some kind of gas. I am trying to analyze it, but it is an extremely complex compound. I would strongly recommend caution." "No kidding..." Ratchet grumbled. He began to make his way westward again.

"Uh, Ratchet..."

Ratchet knew that Clank usually used that tone when there was something big and bad directly behind him. He spun around ready to shoot whatever was there with the charged alpha cannon. But it was another lombax! Ratchet continued the spin, dove to the side and discharged the alpha cannon straight into the air. He returned it to his manifestor and pulled out his omniwrench. Ratchet didn't want to kill the attacker, but he wanted the attacker to wish that he had! He turned to face the lombax.

This lombax was dressed in the same uniform that Rich had been wearing, but he (Ratchet assumed the lombax was male) was wearing an O2 mask as well, obscuring his face. The lombax pulled out a combustor and fired at Ratchet. Ratchet dodged so that the shot only glanced against his armor, but he noticed that this lombax was not aiming at his thigh; that shot was aimed straight into his chest at close range. They were playing for keeps now. So much for surrender...

Ratchet dove low and rolled. He took the attackers legs out from under him with a backhand slam of the wrench to the lombax's knees. As his legs buckled, Ratchet grabbed the lombax's O2 mask and pulled it off. The attacker inhaled once and dropped to the pavement like a stone.

Ratchet felt sick. He quickly reached over and felt for a pulse. The lombax's pulse was strong and regular. He noticed that the lombax was breathing deeply, the blue-grey gas showing rhythmic in and out swirling currents. Leaning a little closer, Ratchet could hear a faint snore coming from the deputy. Deeply relieved, he said aloud, "Just a sleeping gas... I feel a little better now..." He put the O2 mask back on the sleeping deputy and continued westward.

As he moved forward, the noticed that the gas was getting thicker. In the distance, he heard the sound of glass breaking all around him. Ratchet swerved suddenly to his right and ran as quickly as he could down the street. He came upon a pair of deputies, both armed with combustors. They opened fire on sight, but Ratchet was expecting it. He jumped and Clank added in some additional lift with the thruster pack. Ratchet tucked into a roll and sailed over the top of the heads of the two tall lombaxes. On his way over, he smashed one of them in the head with his omniwrench. He heard the sound of breaking glass, and his target fell to the ground, his mask broken.

The other lombax turned and opened fire. One combustor round struck Ratchet in the chest, but was stopped once again by the armor. But this did not improve Ratchet's mood. He closed on the shooter, staying low to the ground, and slammed the omniwrench into his knee. The lombax's leg buckled, but he held on to both the combustor and the O2 mask. Spinning on the injured leg, he took another shot at Ratchet, but being off-balance missed completely. Ratchet jumped and kicked the lombax hard in the chest. He went over. Ratchet was on top of him in an instant and ripped the mask off.

It took a moment to get his bearings in the smoke, but Ratchet continued to move westward. The gas continued to build, until it was so dense that visibility became difficult. He heard a sound to his left and dodged in that general direction, his omniwrench in full swing. Ratchet felt it contact something, but he was not sure what. Feeling around through the blanket of gas that hung thickly against the pavement, he was shocked when a hand reached up from the ground, grabbed his left wrist and tried to pull him down to the pavement. Ratchet decided to help, leaping lightly up and landing with his full weight in a powerslam move directly on top of the hidden lombax. He heard a crack and the hand holding his wrist lost its strength. Ratchet felt around again, and pulled up a broken piece of mask. He dropped it and moved westward.

The gas was very thick now, but in the distance Ratchet could see a flag pole. A banner was turning in what little breeze there was, showing a silver bolt and wrench on a maroon field. That same symbol was painted on the side and embossed into the wings of Aphelion. That had to be a good omen.

Suddenly, four shadows loomed in front of him outlined in the gas. Ratchet could not see if they had any weapons, but dived low, swinging his omniwrench at its full extension. He made contact with a least one of them, but they seemed to be holding their distance. He then heard Clank say, "Uh, Ratchet..." Not even thinking about it, Ratchet jumped straight up into the air. Below his feet, he could see the crackling lash of a shock ravenger pass inches beneath him, at a level where his ankles would have been. He spun in the air and brought the omniwrench straight down on the head of the ravenger wielder. It made a very satisfying sound and the lombax fell to the ground.

But in spinning, the other four shadows were now to his back. Two lombaxes rushed him simultaneously; one from the left, the other from the right. Ratchet dove forward, rolled and spun facing them. The two that rushed him crashed into each other at high speed, and slipped to the ground dazed. Ratchet moved forward and removed their masks.

He felt a hand make contact with and grab his own mask from the right. Ratchet took a deep breath and held it. As his mask was pulled away, Ratchet dove low and made an upward sweeping motion with the omniwrench right between the lombax's legs. With a whimper, the lombax dropped to his knees and, more importantly, dropped Ratchet's mask.

Ratchet was grabbing for it when someone punched him very hard in his stomach. The air was knocked out of his lungs. He gasped, taking in a deep breath of the blue-grey gas...

He thought he heard more glass break right next to his head...

Clank was saying something...

* * *


	7. Chapter 05

**Chapter 5: The Lombax Defense Minister**

He was lying on his back, that much he was sure of. But he was not sure of very much else. The surface was firm and unyielding, but had a strange warmth to it. Ratchet's head was spinning and his skull felt as though someone had beaten him over the head with his own omniwrench. Very hard. Repeatedly. Trying to get his bearings, he slowly opened his eyes.

That did not help much either. The lombax merely became even more dizzy as he tried to focus on the room around him. But there was nothing to catch and hold his eyes, no details were visible at all. The room he was in seemed perfectly cubical, without any sign of an entrance. In addition, the entire surface of the tiny chamber was perfectly smooth and it seemed to be covered in a faint, fiery orange energy field. It was this field that supplied the dim light. Moving his head slightly, he saw that the shimmering energy currents completely covered the floor as well as the walls and ceiling. There was no seam, no protrusion, nothing to break the monotony.

Ratchet slowly pulled himself into a sitting position. His limbs felt heavy and were extremely sore. He sat very still, trying to clear through the throbbing in his head and the leaden pain in his limbs. The lombax felt as if he had either been in a huge fight, swinging his omniwrench for hours, or that he'd fallen a great distance and Clank landed full force right on top of him. Possibly both...

CLANK!

He tried to scramble up and into a ready crouch, but he was still very dizzy, his muscles were unresponsive and the slippery energy field provided little traction for his bare feet. He slumped right back to the ground. Bare?

The lombax quickly patted himself down and took a close look at himself, squinting in the dim orange glow. His armor and boots were gone. He was wearing the spare work jeans that he always had buried in the bottom of his manifestor. These were the ones he'd carried with him for sentimental reasons from Veldin, from before he met Clank. They even still showed the burn marks from his first crash on Novalis. They were also a bit short and tight on him; he'd grown a bit since then. Aside from that, and the backpack straps that held the connecting socket for Clank to ride on, his equipment was gone. Even his manifestor crystal was missing from his right glove. He was alone, unarmed, and completely vulnerable. And to add to his misery, he had a tremendous headache...

"Clank!" he called out, but his throat was very hoarse, as though he had been strolling around on Orxon without a rebreather. "If you can hear me, say something! I can't find you!" "I am here, Ratchet". Clank's voice was a reassuring comfort in the middle of this strange situation. But it was slightly distorted and seemed to come to the lombax from all directions at once. "Do not be alarmed. Stay very still. I will explain."

Ratchet felt a chill. The last time he'd heard Clank telling him "not to be alarmed" and that he "would explain", he'd been captured and forced to fight as an unwilling contestant in DreadZone. Ratchet closed his eyes, blanking out the orange glow, took a few deep breaths and waited. He could feel his heart pounding as though it wanted to escape. Ratchet could not blame it - he wanted to too...

It took a significant amount of effort to calm himself. He wanted the reassuring heft of his omniwrench. While he knew it wouldn't help his situation much, it would still be a welcome weight in his hand. Unfortunately, it too was missing. Ratchet rolled over and got onto his hands and knees. So far, so good. He then tried to climb to his feet again, but the shimmering ceiling of the chamber was deceptively lower than it looked. He bumped his already pounding head into the energy field and sank to his tail once more.

"Just stay still already! The sooner you sit down and listen, the sooner I'll letcha outta there."

Ratchet froze at the sound of the strange voice. They were not alone and they were being watched. Already on edge from the unfamiliar situation, he called out to Clank, "Clank, where are you? Are you alright? Who's that? What's going on?"

The calm but slightly irritated voice broke in. "Clank's fine. You're fine. We're all fine. Except for the deputy you laid out before. But Rich'll be fine, too... eventually. The only reason you can still move at all is because you left the nano-pak with him..."

"LET - ME - OUTTA - HERE!" Ratchet's voice rose to a feeble roar. His throat was still a bit raw, so it lacked any real power or authority. In fact, his voice sounded closer to a wheezing squeak than a roar, but he meant every word!

"Clank, can you talk some sense into your friend? I don't wanna be here all day."

"Ratchet, please." Clank's voice was very calm. "We are not in any immediate danger. We are in the custody of the Lombax Defense Ministry. The minister's security forces used some form of sleep aerosol on the entire area. One of the deputies managed to pull off your O2 mask, and you inhaled a significant amount of the gas. You have been unconscious for almost five hours."

Damn. He'd been knocked out far too many times lately; it was really starting to show. Ratchet sifted through his broken memory. "Okay. I remember a bunch o' drones, then some uniformed lombaxes rushing us. There was some kind of blue smoke... I remember smelling something... almost... 'antiseptic'..."

"Yeah, that's the sleep gas. It's not colorless, it's not odorless, it's not subtle and it packs one helluva punch."

"Tell me about it..." Ratchet mumbled under his breath rubbing his throbbing head.

"May I continue?" Clank inquired.

"Sorry. Go for it."

Clank resumed. "After the deputies removed your mask, you inhaled a significant amount of the gas and lost consciousness. We were transported to the regional office of the Lombax Defense Ministry. The voice you hear belongs to Minister Neutrino. He is the one who has removed our gear and placed us in these port-a-prisons..."

"Port-a-prisons?" Ratchet muttered to himself with a coughing chuckle. Still, no matter what the name, he had to admit they were effective...

"Because the gas did not affect me directly, I was able to explain to the minister who we are and what our intentions were. He is willing to speak with us, but he needs to have the information I provided verified by you as well. He has already agreed to lower the fields that have us contained when you are ready."

The minister's voice was a little dubious. "I'm startin' to wonder if that's such a good idea with your friend here. He seems a bit... twitchy..."

Ratchet muttered, "You ain't seen 'twitchy' yet, pal..." There was a low growl, presumably from the minister.

"Ratchet, that is quite enough. Minister, you have my assurances that we will not cause you any further trouble. If you insist on a guaranty of our behavior, might I suggest that you keep me contained while you speak with Ratchet?"

"What?!" Ratchet could not believe his ears. "Clank, NO!"

Clank replied calmly. "If this is the only way to convince him of our sincerity, it is a reasonable recommendation. Minister?"

"Fine by me. Okay Tiny, you heard your friend. Just sit still and close your eyes. It'll be a lot easier on you that way."

"Tiny? Who're you callin'..."

The orange glow around Ratchet faded, and the harsh light of overhead fixtures combined with ambient sunlight filled his eyes. Having grown accustom to the significantly dimmer environment of the confinement chamber, Ratchet was overwhelmed by the brightness. He shaded his eyes quickly and scrambled clumsily to his feet.

"I toldya it would be easier..."

Ratchet glared up at the minister. This lombax was nearly as tall Qwark, but the bulk that he carried was more muscle than ego. His fur was the same yellow, orange and brown mixture he had seen in Rich and the other deputies, but due to his age the minister had traces of white, silver and grey mingled in. This effect was most noticeable where the color bands met, especially on his head and ears, but there were stray silver hairs mingled throughout his visible fur, even in the orange tuft on his tail. His eyes were a sharp blue, very clear and bright. They were also watching him closely and held what seemed to be a deep suspicion.

The minister's uniform looked very much like that of the other uniformed lombaxes that had jumped them in the city, a standard camouflage pattern to match the city - desert environment outside. But this uniform had more decorations and insignias on it. If anything, at first glance, the minister reminded Ratchet of the commando he had met on Batalia, but there was a different look in his face and in his eyes. The commando had shown a lot of military skill and plenty of bluster. But the lombax minister's face seemed, well, younger, despite the silver fur; he seemed like the type more willing to go out to a pub with friends than contemplate battle plans. It was his eyes, though... Deep and penetrating, they betrayed a strong intelligence tempered by a hint of humor. But at the moment, they were also frosted over by a trained professional distrust.

Looking around the small building, Ratchet's eyes were immediately drawn to Clank. He was standing completely still within a faint orange cube of energy. "Clank, I'm out. Just hold on." He tried to sound reassuring. Assuming that this was the same kind of confinement system they had used on him, he knew that Clank could not see him. But the cube was almost completely transparent from the outside, the lombax noticed. Thinking back on his clumsy antics for the last few minutes, he mumbled to himself, "I must've looked like an idiot in there..."

"Allow me to introduce myself." Undistorted by the port-a-prison, the minister's voice was much stronger, more confident, and a lot louder, as though used to carrying over the sound of battle. "My name is Petrov Neutrino, Regional Minister for the Lombax Defense Ministry. Call me Petrov..."

"Hi. I'm Ratchet. You've already met Clank."

"Indeed so!" The minister's voice filled with a grudging respect. There was also a hint of curiosity in his tone. We waved the lombax to a chair in front of his desk and sat down in the chair directly opposite. "He's told me a lot about you and your travels. By the way, if it puts your mind at ease, Deputy Richard Quantum will recover. That nano-pak saved his life, you know."

"I wasn't trying to hurt anyone," Ratchet admitted, taking a seat rather quickly. He was still a bit dizzy. "It's just that after dealing with everything back home, all my weapons were fully upgraded. I forgot the mag-net cannon had some explosive toys added on. I'm just glad he'll be okay."

Clank stirred, looking around the room, trying to get a fix on their location. "I agree. We did not mean to cause harm to anyone. We were merely trying to relay a message to your people that it was now safe to return to Polaris."

"Yeah," Ratchet added. "'Take us to your leader' sounds great in all the holovids, but it doesn't work real well. We were just tryin' to get someone to talk to us instead of shooting at us. And then there were the drones..."

"Are you satisfied of our intentions now?" Clank asked.

The minister looked at Clank uncomfortably, even though Clank could not see him. "Yeah... About that... I'm afraid I can't just take your word on that. Clank, you've been pretty reasonable about this so far, given the circumstances. But if I'm gonna ask Ratchet a bunch of questions, I'm gonna have to make sure he's telling the truth. Not only that, a lotta other people will wanna see this for themselves."

"Do you mean that 'take us to your leader' line actually worked?" Ratchet joked hopefully.

Neutrino looked as though he were about to grin, but then changed his mind and shook his head sadly. "Uh, no. Not quite. It's not that easy. I'm gonna have to hook you up to the BetaTex."

"The Beta-whatsit?" asked Ratchet.

"BetaTex. It's short for Beta Cortex Recording Something-Or-Other. It's a neural scanner that records the person in it, and lets others play it back later. The good news is it works as one helluva good lie detector. I ask questions, and all your thoughts and memories are captured for later viewing. The bad news is it picks up and records ALL your thoughts and memories. Anyone doin' a playback will know everything there is to know, and live the events first hand through your eyes."

Ratchet did NOT like the sound of that. Especially the 'records all' bit. Not that the lombax had anything to hide. Not really, anyway. It just seemed more than a little intrusive: having your deepest thoughts recorded, passed around and played back like a cheap holovid rental.

"I'm not sure I like that idea." Ratchet's eyes darted around the room, hoping to spot a better one. He could see his manifestor inside a storage locker. Sadly, the locker was located behind the minister's desk and was covered by a faintly orange shimmer; probably another force field. There was no sign of his armor or his wrench. The door and the single barred window in the room had a faintly orange glow over them as well. Apparently, the minister was not taking any chances.

And the minister apparently did not miss the significance of the glances Ratchet made around the room. He stood and put his rather large, gloved hand on the lombax's shoulder, applying just enough pressure to push him down further into his seat. And this also served to remind Ratchet that he was a good bit smaller, lighter, disoriented and that he still ached ... all ... over ...

The minister met Ratchet's eyes, knew he had made his point, nodded and withdrew his hand. "Trust me, I know whatcha mean, Tiny. All the commanders had to learn the BetaTex. Both using it and being recorded. So I've been there. It really doesn't hurt... much. As long as you don't try to hold somethin' back. If you do, the machine keeps diggin' until it finds it, and it really burns you out. We all had to try to lie, but I wouldn't recommend it; it doesn't work and it's not a lotta fun."

"How can I pass up such a great offer?" Ratchet commented sarcastically. He looked over to Clank, still standing in the confinement field.

"Don't worry 'bout him," the minister began. "I'll let him out as soon as you're strapped into the BetaTex..."

Ratchet's head snapped back to look at the minister. "Strapped in...?" He said dubiously. This was sounding better and better all the time.

"Look, if you're that worried, Clank'll be here the entire time. He'll see everything that's recorded. You can trust him, and he'll keep an eye on me. I promise to stop if he asks me to."

"Wha'd'y' think Clank?"

"Well, I must admit that I have some concerns. But this appears to be the only way that we will be able to convince the minister of our intentions. This recording might also provide your people the historical background they need about Tachyon from an eye witness perspective. In addition, I do not believe there is another alternative available."

"Think of it from our point o' view," the minister explained. "We've been here, lookin' over our shoulders for ol' Percival and his pet goldfish for years. We built this city as a home... and as a fortress. Every day we watch for the dimensionator opening a portal; drilling for a war we hope won't come. We had a warning a few days ago, but nothing came through. We put the city on alert." The minister's expression sobered significantly. "Then last night, the alarm rings and it's not a drill. A portal opened and something entered. Someone. Quantum calls in an infiltrator and winds up in the med center. We scrambled our entire planetary defense network, contacted our allies and put everything we had on standby. And what'd we find? A short lombax with a robot strapped to his back, an arsenal on his glove and a chip on his shoulder."

Ratchet bristled at the description, but remained silent. It was more accurate than he really wanted to admit. From his confinement field, Clank chuckled slightly and nodded.

"Imagine our shock when this one lombax wanders throughout the city, disabling waves of automated defenses and almost knocking out an entire squad o' deputies. Especially when he's doin' it with ..." he withdrew Ratchet's omniwrench from a storage bin beneath his desk "... a stinkin' wrench!" Ratchet smiled slightly and his eyes were drawn to his wrench, but the minister put it away and continued. "I searched your manifestor and saw the firepower you had to choose from. I saw the nano-pak you left on Rich, clumps o' your own fur still stuck to it. I heard your voice on the dispatch recording. But I also saw you in cragmite armor and I lived through Tachyon's betrayal. All this makes me curious..."

He pushed himself away from the desk and stood. "I need proof. And before I try to call off the alert, I intend to get it." The minister looked into Ratchet's eyes. "From what Clank has told me, you're probably okay and this is probably overkill. I don't doubt him, but I need to be sure. Too much rides on it. So I need answers from you, without error, whether you wanna cooperate or not." The minister paused, and Ratchet thought he saw a pained look in his eyes. It seemed that Neutrino was about as eager to do this as he was.

"Besides," the minister continued with a sigh, "have you ever seen one o' these before?" He held up an electric blue cylinder. It appeared to be made of some kind of clear material, probably glass. There was a label on it written in lombax runes, but he could not read the writing. The minister's thumb was directly over one end, and his hand was curled around it, as though ready to crush it in his hand or throw it to the floor.

Ratchet shook his head. "Nope, can't say that I have..."

"Well, this little gem is a vial o' that sleep gas you enjoyed so much outside. This is a pretty small room. You do the math. We both know how it works on you. Personally, I've got a mask in my desk and I've had t' breathe this stuff a lot over the years. I'm pretty much used to it now. These days it only gives me a really bad headache." He gave Ratchet a grim stare from his now icy blue eyes. "You really don't want me t' have t' haul your unconscious lump to the BetaTex and wire your brain up while I've got a really bad headache, do you?"

Ratchet looked into his eyes and got the point. "Uh, no. That doesn't sound like much fun at all. Alright. Let's get this over with. What do I have to do?"

* * *


	8. Chapter 06

**Chapter 6: Interrogation**

Neutrino lead Ratchet to one of four small alcoves along the outer walls of the otherwise featureless building. Activating a series of switches, the lights within the recess came to life. What was revealed looked like a combination of the worst features of a medical examination table and dentist's chair. This chair had a number of lights, electrostatic probes and cable hookups suspended above it. Even more disconcerting were the heavily padded weblike restraints for the head, arms, chest and legs. Wires ran everywhere, from the suspended connectors, from a sinister looking helmet resting on the padded headrest of the chair, even from the restraints themselves. The wires gathered into multicolor bundles, a literal river of conduit, into a central snake-like hose that ran to a sizeable bank of computers. These were attached to at least a dozen different display screens and a small, dark glass panel that seemed to cover some kind of opening.

Ratchet took an immediate dislike to the device. It seemed vaguely familiar to him somehow, the stuff of nightmares brought to life... As though he had seen something like it before... Of course! Medical Outpost Omega! When the Technomites had kidnapped him in hopes of cloning a Ratchet army! Granted, this had a lot more electronics and a lot fewer probes, but it still had that same welcoming appeal.

"I don't like the look of that," he said aloud.

Clank heard him. "Ratchet, this may be the only way to provide your people the evidence they need about Tachyon. I do not like this situation either. But you do not need to go through with this if you do not want to."

Ratchet looked at Clank, and then at the minister and shook his head. The lombax knew full well that the only way to get out of this was to go through with it - all the way. Especially with Clank still encased in an energy field like that. He walked over to the chair and swiped a gloved finger through layers of accumulated dust. The machine looked like it hadn't been used in years. "Are you sure this thing still works?"

The minister had been fumbling with the dark panel, placing something inside and closing the door. Looking up, he saw the look on Ratchet's face and the finger trail through the dust. "Yeah. We don't use it much, but it works. It was even overhauled and inspected two years ago."

"Great..." Ratchet mumbled, unconvinced. He looked over at Clank, still standing immobile within the energy cube, and then turned to the chair and climbed on. Neutrino began securing the straps, immobilizing the lombax. "Hey! Is that really necessary?" Ratchet asked. "I'm here voluntarily, you know."

Neutrino met his eyes. "True. But the straps're only partly t' keep you secure. They also record voluntary movements and send 'em to the computer. It's all combined to give the big picture to the recorder." The minister tightened the last of the straps. "That and it's t' make sure you don't pull any of the wires out if you start thrashing around. Okay, you ready to start?"

"No. Clank first. Let him outta there."

"Sure." He was about to turn, but then paused and pressed a dark blue button on what appeared to be the operator's console. It illuminated and a faint hum started within the computers and a glow began to build in the banks of monitors. "It takes a minute or two to warm up," Neutrino said. Turning back to Clank, the minister added, "Ratchet, whatever you do, don't try to get outta the restraints and don't pull any wires out. With the power on, it might not be good." Satisfied that Ratchet was not going to try anything, he walked over to where Clank was standing. "Clank, you might want to close your eyes."

"That will not be necessary," Clank replied. "My optical sensors react more rapidly than organic structures. I will not be disoriented."

"Oh...kay..." The minister pressed an actuator on his glove. The glow around Clank dissipated, and the robot blinked once. Clank immediately scanned the room and moved to stand beside Ratchet. The probe on his antenna pulsed as he ran the device through his sensors. "Oh my," he said quietly.

"What?!" Ratchet's voice was a little shrill. The comment from his friend did nothing to help his already raw nerves. Between the dimensionator malfunctions, the drones, the gas, the confinement cell and the straps, Ratchet was in no mood for any more surprises.

"Oh... nothing... The neural interface appears to be a significant modernization of the dimensionator's design. Everything appears to be in working order. I would however re-emphasize the minister's warning. Do not attempt to disconnect yourself from this device with the power active. The results could be... dire."

"Are you ready?" The minister asked again. "This shouldn't take long, and I'll be as careful as possible. Remember: be honest and be complete."

"Just do it already," Ratchet hissed through clenched teeth.

Neutrino activated the output circuit to the series of monitors. Each one was labeled in lombax. While Ratchet may not have been able to read them, Clank could, having seen (and, more importantly, remembered) the symbols and translation from the bunker door on Rykan V. There were various metabolic indicators, including monitors for life functions such as heart rate and respiration. Both of these were rather elevated. An entire display was devoted to various brain functions, including regional activity, wave form analysis, neural feedbacks, pain response and a graphic interpretation of various emotional states. Clank was rather curious about that one, given everything he had come to expect from Ratchet.

One large, central display was marked as a representation of the lombax's vision, and there were speakers visible on either side. This display currently registered a view of the wiring harness and probes above the BetaTex from Ratchet's current perspective. It was not an image that inspired confidence. Another bank of six displays was listed as memory. Most curiously, there was also a memory display labeled as "repressed" and another as "programmed".

At operator's console, there was a large "general stress indicator", with a single digital readout as a percentage. At the moment, this read 35. Below this, was a deactivated switch marked "failsafe". All of the labels were illuminated, glowing faintly blue.

"Ratchet, I know it's easier said than done, but try t' relax. I need t' calibrate the sensors. Clank's here with you. It's up t' you, of course, but it'll be a lot easier for you if you close your eyes. It was when I went through it."

"Fine..." Ratchet grumbled and closed his eyes.

As soon as the lombax closed his eyes, the minister touched another switch. The blank glass panel that was part of the recording mechanism sprang to life, illuminated from within. Inside, a single clear cube of crystal nearly five centicubits across was floating suspended within a matrix of lasers. These lasers pulsed and shifted in both hue and intensity. The crystal began to spin. The minister turned to Clank and nodded, once. Clank nodded in return.

Neutrino (N): "For the record, what is your name?"  
Ratchet (R): "Ratchet." stress - 35 percent  
N: "What is your last name?"  
R: A pause. And then, "Just Ratchet." stress - 70 percent

The minister looked puzzled for a second, then continued.

N: "Ratchet, why did you come here?"  
R: "To let the lombaxes know it's okay to return to Polaris; to Fastoon." 40  
N: "Is it safe?"  
R: "Yes." 40  
N: "Is it safe?"  
R: "Is what safe?" 50

Minister Neutrino sighed and his ears drooped slightly. "Nevermind."

Looking over to Clank, Minister Neutrino pressed a big shiny green button. The intensity of the beams on the recording system increased dramatically. Ratchet's form seemed to stiffen momentarily and then slump into the BetaTex. The indicators on the monitors also peaked briefly and then stabilized slightly lower than before. One by one, the labels on the monitors changed from a blue tint to a solid green glow, except for the second of six memory monitors. This one had gone from blue to black. The minister swore, walked to the monitor and tapped it repeatedly on the bezel. The green indicator appeared.

"Don't worry," the minister explained. "It's just a loose bulb. Now that the machine's ready, I've engaged the recorder. Ratchet's fine, but he's in an induced semi-dream state. Along with answering verbally, he'll experience the events as though he's reliving them. All this will be captured on the monitors and recorded. Do you understand?"

Clank acknowledged. "This seems to be a rather awkward way of obtaining information."

Neutrino conceded, "It is. But you'll understand why soon. Now that the BetaTex is fully online, we'll be seeing and recording the events as Ratchet saw them. Anyone playing back the crystal will experience the events first hand, as though they were Ratchet living through them. Like I said, one helluva good lie detector..."

"Indeed," Clank responded quietly.

Neutrino (N): "This may seem a little repetitive, but what's your name?"  
Ratchet (R): "Ratchet." stress - 25 percent  
N: "What is your last name?"  
R: "Just Ratchet." 60

The minister looked at the reading again, shook his head, made a few notes and continued.

N: "Ratchet, why did you come here?"  
R: "I wanted to let the lombaxes know its okay to return to Polaris. To Fastoon." 45  
N: "Did Percival Tachyon send you?"  
R: "No." 35  
N: "Where is Tachyon now?"  
R: "Dead." 35  
N: "How? Don't answer, just think about it; let the recorder do its job."

Clank looked over the series of monitors. He could see the events of the search for the dimensionator, and their battle with Tachyon, playing back on the various screens. The visual monitor showed Ratchet's perspective on the fight, of Tachyon falling into the void, grabbing onto his leg and pulling them in after him. Clank looked over to Ratchet, and he saw the lombax's left leg twitching in the straps, as though once again in that claw-like metal grasp.

Neutrino watched the monitors and watched the story unfold. He took some notes at the very beginning, but they were forgotten as he watched the events play back. There was a strange look in his eyes when Tachyon fell, taunting Ratchet one final time about his name and purpose.

N: "Very good. Now go back. I want to know everything you can remember Tachyon saying or doing. Start from the beginning. Where did you meet him?"

Clank saw the attack on Metropolis once again. But there was something else in the monitors. The stress indicators were higher - almost 60 percent. The brain functions monitor also registered the presence of a great deal of emotion. Clank looked at the minister, but received his answer before voicing it. "It's not surprising," Neutrino said. "He's reliving his home being attacked again. When I had to relive Percival's attack on Fastoon, my stress markers were in the high 70's." Clank nodded.

N: "Show me everything you know about the dimensionator, and how you came to possess it."

Once again, the story unfolded on the monitors. Their entire quest, including stealing the map, the recording in the bunker, Sargasso, the battles in Kerchu City, dealing with Captain Slag, and the fight with Tachyon on Reepor. When Tachyon opened the portals there, Ratchet's stress level climbed even higher, reaching 75. And then there was a sudden darkness on the monitors.

N: "What happened here?"  
Clank (C): "Ratchet lost consciousness. The connecting bolt suspending him above the chasm released and he fell. I fell soon afterward, but we were separated."  
R: (mumbled) "Clank?" He thrashed weakly in the BetaTex, but the straps held him in place. 80 and climbing, the green indicator label turned a flashing amber... 84 "CLANK?!"

C: "I am here Ratchet. Do not be alarmed."  
R: (whispered) "I thought I'd lost you." 65

A few stray memories flooded the monitors, all involving Clank. Ratchet picking up the unconscious robot from the crater on the Kyzil Plateau of Veldin; repairing the damage Angela had done to him; his abduction by the Zoni; Clank's return on Reepor; Quartu with Clank's mom. In one memory monitor there was an image of a campfire. Clank's eyes were drawn to it for a moment, and then he looked at the banks of monitors. Studying them, he realized that the fires were solely for _his_ benefit. Ratchet had always built the campfires just for him, simply because the lombax knew that he enjoyed watching them so much. 40

Neutrino looked at the monitors and then down at Clank. "He cares about you a lot, you know," the minister said, putting his hand on Clank's head in a gentle gesture briefly before steeling himself and moving it away. "Talk to him. Ask him what happened next." 35

C: "Ratchet, do you remember the battle on Meridian City?"  
R: "Yes" 50

* * *

And so it went for many hours. With the prompting of Minister Neutrino and Clank, Ratchet relived the major episodes of his life.

Everything he experienced...

his capture on New Fastoon;  
Rich, the first lombax he'd ever met;  
the agony of the dimensionator's malfunctions;  
exiling the cragmites back to X2-49;  
Clank's return from the Zoni;  
Talwyn examining his arm;  
the battles involving Tachyon and the dimensionator...

...accelerating back through the years...

Luna;  
DreadZone station and Al's implants;  
Doctor Nefarious;  
Angela;  
Drek on Veldin;  
meeting Clank;  
building his first ship with spare parts scavenged on Veldin;  
saving for his first omniwrench;  
"How come you don't have a tail too?"

Each episode, each sensation, every minute detail was captured by the recorder into the spinning cube, etched in the molecular structure of its crystalline matrix.

As each event played out before them, Minister Petrov Neutrino gradually lost the gruff distrust that had guided him initially. His eyes showed less suspicion and more of a respect and almost a sense of pity for the short young lombax in the chair and his robot companion. But there was one thing more he needed...

"Okay," the minister began. "You've told me almost everything I need. I believe you. But I need to know who you are, why you're here and how you came to be here from Polaris."

R: "My name is Ratchet. We came from Fastoon using the dimensionator. We wanted to let the lombaxes know they can return."  
N: "Where is the dimensionator now?"  
R: "It was too bulky to carry, and wouldn't scan. I removed the washer so that no one else could use it, and gave it to Clank. The rest is hidden." 50  
N: "Where is it hidden? Show me."

And image of the tree stand that Ratchet had constructed appeared on the monitors. Neutrino nodded in recognition. 55

N: "I know the place. Why did you come here?"  
R: "To let the lombaxes know they can return." 45  
N: "Why else?"  
R: "Nothing." 50  
N: "What other reason did you have?"  
R: "No other reason." 55  
N: "What is your name?"  
R: "Ratchet." 50  
N: "Ratchet is not a lombax name. What is your real name?"  
R: "Ratchet." 60  
N: What is your last name?"  
R: "Just Ratchet." 65  
N: "Ratchet what? What is your father's name?"  
R: "I don't know." 70

Clank was not happy with this line of questioning, especially since he had already told the minister the whole story, and had seen it play back in painful detail on the monitors. "Sir, as I have explained previously, Ratchet does not know of his origins." "I know. I'm sorry. But there's something buried here. I need to find it, and not just out of a sense of curiosity." 75

N: "Ratchet, what do you know of your father? Of your people? Why did you come? Answer me!"

Ratchet began to thrash about in the BetaTex. The straps held him in place, but the stress indicators continued to climb. 80, and the green indicator changed once again to flashing amber

The screens around them flickered. While nothing showed in the visual monitor, other memories slowly began to surface and fill the multiple monitors. In one screen, the smuggler was commenting about the similarities of his appearance to the lombax pilot he met in the Voron Nebula, the one that he acquired the gyrocycle from. The monitor below it was filled with Talwyn's remarks about it being ironic that he'd never seen another lombax. Tachyon's taunts from the public address video boards and his stated pleasure at killing the keeper of the dimensionator played side by side in a lurid double feature. Thoughts of Aphelion having been shot down over Fastoon repeatedly alternating with the smuggler's comments about the lombax pilot that Tachyon shot down in monitor five. His questions to Clank about Tachyon lying about his father and his purpose. And finally a single image in the visual monitor: the initial portal opened by Tachyon with the lombax buildings just beyond, towering to the sky with ear-like antenna, reaching up to touch the rift in longing only to hear the cragmite's mockery before turning in a defiant final stand...

Multiple monitors were flashing amber warnings now. The stress meter had climbed to 91 percent, and was now a solid red. An alarm rang from the depths of the computer bank. The brain function monitor showed very powerful and conflicting emotions. In the wiry grip of the BetaTex, Ratchet was twisting as though trying to escape. His hands were balled into fists and eyes were clamped tightly shut. A thin stream of tears trickled down his fur to the headrest beneath. "Nothing." Ratchet whispered the single word over and over again in a broken voice through his clenched jaw.

Clank was now even angrier at this mistreatment and blatant violation. "Sir, that is quite enough! Both Ratchet and I have answered your questions. Cease this immediately!"

Petrov looked down at Clank, and nodded. Clank noted that Petrov appeared to be struggling with significant emotion of his own. "Clank, I'm sorry you had to see that. I want you to tell Ratchet that he's said enough, and that it's time to sleep. These're keywords that'll shut down the probes. I can do it, but it'll be far better for him if it's a familiar voice."

Clank nodded. "Ratchet, I have been told that you have said enough. You should go to sleep now." The lombax stopped twisting, visibly relaxed in the chair, smiled slightly, mumbled "G'night, Clank," and began snoring gently. The meters slowly returned to normal, the red and amber flashing returning to a soft green glow.

Petrov faced the dozing lombax. There was a soft, sad expression in his face, and both his tail and ears drooped low. In a very low voice filled with pity, he said to Ratchet, "I'm sorry. Thank you." Looking up at the recording crystal and the monitors, he straightened himself to his full height. He walked a little shakily over to the recording device and placed his hand on the clear glass panel encasing the floating crystal. At his touch, the glass illuminated green. Speaking in a strained, but formal voice, Petrov began, "This is Regional Minister Petrov Neutrino of the Lombax Defense Ministry. I certify that this recording was made in my presence and by my authority on a willing and cooperative subject. This concludes the interview of Ratchet... ...of Veldin from the Solana galaxy. Authorization code gamma three."

The monitors shifted from green to blue once again. The touch panel over the crystal returned to its clear state. The crystal inside the chamber increased its rate of rotation, the lasers flashed once before darkening completely and the crystal began to slow down. The minister removed a padded storage case from beneath the chamber. Very slowly, he lifted the glass panel. The crystal continued to gently rotate suspended in its confinement field. Petrov reached in and carefully removed it, placed it into the padded case and then placed the entire thing in his personal manifestor. He shut down the monitors and watched as all of the indicators faded to black and the systems shut down. Then he turned to Clank, "Don't worry. Your friend won't remember anything that happened here. He'll be asleep for at least four hours. Probably more, given the stress he was under. Plus the gas. Gimme a hand with the straps and let's get him t' bed. There's a lot for us t' talk about."

* * *

Minister Neutrino and Clank worked together to unfasten the straps that held the sleeping lombax in the BetaTex, Ratchet snoring softly all the while. When the final strap was removed, the lombax stopped snoring, stirred slightly, rolled over onto his side, curled into a tight ball and started snoring much louder than before. Petrov gave Clank a small smile, and gently picked the lombax up. Moving carefully so as not to disturb his charge, he walked to the second alcove. Within the alcove was a meticulous bed and a polished nightstand made of what looked like a scrap chunk of raritanium alloy. Resting on the nightstand were a pair of reading glasses, a small lamp and an open book (The Alpha Cannon: Enhance Your Firepower). Neutrino made a small motion with his head to Clank. Clank pulled back the sheets, and Petrov gently put the lombax to bed. He covered him with the blanket and waved for Clank to follow.

They walked together to the door of the building. With a wave of his gloved hand, the force field faded. The two stepped outside into the New Fastoon evening. It was late. The unfamiliar stars shone brightly over the compound. The air was warm, and a light breeze stirred up the dust from the ground. Clank could easily understand why the lombaxes had chosen this world as their new home; it was very similar to the original Fastoon in the Polaris galaxy. Even the night air seemed to contain some of the same trace elements and vegetable pollen. Thinking of Ratchet's comment about the thorntrees, they had no doubt been transplanted from their home world.

Clank could see that the regional headquarters building itself was set apart from the general populace and other buildings, with a wide compound of open land all around it. The flag pole that he and Ratchet had seen from the city streets was located at the outer wall of the compound. To the side of the building was what looked to be a target range. There were the remains of several small targets that may have originally been drophyd or cragmite in shape, but were barely recognizable now; a portion of hovercab fender with no sign of where the rest of the cab was; numerous fragments of the flying drones he and Ratchet encountered earlier scattered over a wide area.

The minister saw Clank searching the devastation. He chuckled, a strangely merry sound coming from such a large warrior. Sitting down on the doorstep, Neutrino pulled his tail from under him and started examining the tuft absent mindedly. "That reminds me," the minister began, "I owe your friend a bunch of ammo for that beast of a RYNO. Helluva nice weapon. The shots are a touch wild, but with a little reprogramming, the mini-missiles should home in on the greatest threat, rather than the first one they see..."

The minister sighed. "I owe you and your friend in there an apology. Well, not just that. I, well, we owe you a huge debt. Getting rid of Tachyon was something we tried t' do... and failed. We lost our home because of it. We thought if Tachyon was raised right, he'd turn out okay. And he was happy; we just didn't know why until it was too late...

"It cost us everything: our home, our technology, but worst of all our pride. We thought we saved ourselves. We thought we spared Polaris. It woulda been worth it. But we paid such a high price... for nothing! And both you and your friend back there have the scars to show for it. You're still payin' for our mistakes.

"We used to be a force in Polaris, and other galaxies too. We were respected. We helped a lotta planets get off the ground for the first time. And we also took out a lotta threats. And we left. Just like that. In a way, I'm glad you and Ratchet fought those battles. They were right; they were just. But you shouldn't've had to do it alone." He looked down at the ground for a second, and then back to his tail tuft.

"First thing in the morning I'll call the Prime Minister. He and I go way back. If I can get him to play the recording Ratchet made... It'll go a long way in bringing up the ears of a lotta folks. I'm not sure it'll change anything, but it's worth a try."

Clank thought of the possibilities. "Would the Prime Minister be able to convince your people to return?"

Petrov winced as he plucked a silver hair from the tuft on his tail. Holding it aloft, he started at it for a second, sighed and released it into the night air. Watching it float away, he softly said, "I hope so." His voice grew stronger. "But at least they'll know it's over. Finally."

Stirring slightly, the minister rubbed the top of his furry head in an oddly familiar gesture. "I need to make a call. Gimme a few minutes alone?" Clank nodded and walked back into the building. Ratchet continued to snore in the bunk, the tip of his tail sticking out from under the sheets and almost touching the floor. It was twitching slightly. Clank shook his head in amazement at the resilience of the little lombax, gave a tiny smile and watched his friend sleep. From outside, he could hear the minister speaking into some kind of communication device. But he could only hear the minister's side of the conversation...

Put me through to Minister Gaiden.  
Yeah, I know what time it is.  
No, it can't wait.  
Wake him.  
Just DO IT or I'll make sure you're busted so far down that the only stripes you'll have will be on your FUR!  
THANK YOU!  
Minister Gaiden? Petrov here.  
Yeah, I know what time it is.  
It's important.  
I've got the infiltrators in custody and I've taken his statement.  
Uh, huh.  
No, just the pair - a lombax and a robot.  
No one else.  
I recommend that we stand down the alert.  
Good.  
What'd'y' mean??  
NO. That is NOT acceptable.  
Look, this guy's going to sleep for a few more hours. At least. There's no rush.  
Well, we'll see what the Prime Minister has to say about that.  
Yeah, I intend to call him first thing in the morning.  
Why'd I wake you now? Because I _like_ you...  
Hello?  
Hello?  
Idiot bureaucrat...

Clank's smile grew wider and he looked at Ratchet critically. With all he had observed of Regional Minister Petrov Neutrino of the Lombax Defense Ministry, it was very easy for Clank to imagine what Ratchet might be like in another thirty years...

* * *


	9. Chapter 07

**Chapter 7: Dawn's Early Light**

The sky was beginning to lighten in the west, and the stars faded into the brightening background. The air had grown slightly crisp and the breeze had increased to a steady force. In the distance, the sound of lombaxes stirring and preparing for their daily lives filtered down into the small central room of the regional ministry.

Petrov Neutrino had remained at his desk. He made no other calls that evening except to verify from 'Dispatch' that Minister Gaiden had indeed lifted the alert. Aside from that, the minister had spent most of his time staring alternately at the BetaTex crystal, at Ratchet and Clank and at an unremarkable point about a quarter of a cubit from the ceiling above his desk.

Clank did not need to sleep of course, but he did spend some time regenerating his power cells and replaying the events of the past few days in his neural matrix. He knew that there was significantly more to come, and that he would have to update Ratchet on what he had learned so far. Most importantly, from what he had overheard from Neutrino, there seemed to be a difference in opinion regarding their presence. And with the morning would come the long sought interview with the Prime Minister, along with a possible confrontation with the irritable Minister Gaiden. It was going to be an eventful day.

Ratchet rolled over and continued to snore.

Petrov watched the sky closely through the barred window from his desk. As soon as the solar disk broke the horizon, he reactivated the perimeter force fields and placed another call.

Prime Minister? Regional Minister Petrov Neutrino here.  
Yeah, it's early. I hope I woke you...  
No? Damn. Listen, I've got a situation here. I've got something you need to see - personally.  
No. Really.  
It's important.  
It can't wait.  
I can't leave.  
Yeah, I'll be here.  
Not yet, but I'm expecting an old friend over this morning. Nothin' I can't handle.  
Yeah, the alert's been lifted.  
Yeah, it is.  
Cool. I'll see you then.

Clank found the entire conversation slightly puzzling.

As the light from the sun streamed into the little room through the barred window, a bright shaft fell onto the bed. Ratchet stirred. He turned over and slowly opened his eyes. Then he jumped out of the bed with a yelp, reaching for the empty spot on his right glove where his manifestor would normally be. The room and its contents slowly drifted into full focus and the events of the previous day unclouded. Ratchet saw both the minister and Clank staring at him. "Mornin', Tiny," the minister said with an amused grin. Slightly embarrassed with his own antics, he muttered, "G'mornin'. I guess I fell asleep. Did everything go okay with the BetaTex? Last thing I remember was that damn chair..." His eyes drifted over to the other alcove. While the lights and the electronics were without power, the sunlight reflected over the collection of wire, glass and metal, illuminating it and casting sharp shadows on the computer banks and walls. But unlike most nightmares, the touch of sunlight did not make it go away...

"Yeah. Everything's done. As you can see, you're both okay. The only reason you don't have your manifestor is 'cause I thought you might be a little 'on edge', wakin' up in a strange bed an' all. Why don't you get cleaned up," Neutrino said, nodding in the direction of another alcove, "and I'll get us some breakfast. Then we can talk and I'll give you your stuff back."

Ratchet looked at Clank, who nodded. The lombax said, "Thanks, minister." Petrov looked up and met the lombax's eyes. "No. Thank YOU. And call me Petrov."

* * *

Ratchet went into the third alcove and found a fully functional bathroom, complete with a rather archaic hydroshower / airblast system. While far less efficient than electrostatic systems, compared to the last few weeks of his wanderings this was a relative luxury and he intended to make the best of it. Turning the hydroshower on to hydro at its hottest setting (and then quickly backing the temperature down slightly when clouds of steam made vision difficult in the small room), he called out (his voice raised to carry over the sound of the rushing water) "Could'ya at least gimme back my flight suit? These work jeans are a little small." He thought he heard Petrov shout back something about "rank", but didn't quite make out the rest of it.

Standing surrounded by the jets of hot water spouting from the walls and ceiling of the stall, Ratchet tried to piece together what happened last night. He knew his brain had taken a few nasty jolts lately, so he expected some problems. Ratchet remembered the events leading up to his capture and the time he spent with the minister. Sorry - "Petrov". He remembered getting strapped into that infernal BetaTex, closing his eyes, and... Nothing. The lombax tried, but couldn't remember anything beyond that. He didn't even know how he got into bed. He shook his head and sighed. At least the machine didn't leave a hangover like the gas did...

Ratchet switched the jet control from hydro to air. The water flow ceased immediately and heated air blasted from the nozzles. The air currents rapidly removed all trace of excess moisture from his fur. When he was dry, and his fur was properly fluffed for a change, he adjusted the temperature control to a significantly colder setting, put his face up close to one of the larger nozzles and closed his eyes. He loved the feel of wind on his muzzle - a sensation that he could never reproduce in spaceflight. But give him a hoverbike or 'board with a nice, clear, non-explosive laden track... He purred slightly for a moment before he caught himself and stopped; that kind of thing was embarrassing. Then he accidentally shifted a few centicubits to his right and caught the full flow of cold air from one of the other forgotten jets along the adjoining wall - right at the base of his tail. His eyes snapped open and he shut down the jets completely with a shiver. "That's one way to wake up quick..." he thought to himself.

Climbing out of the stall, he noticed that someone had opened the door ("Why didn't I notice that?" and "Did they catch me purring?" were the two uppermost thoughts in Ratchet's mind), removed the old jeans from where he had tossed them and placed a stack of clothing at the entrance to the stall. It was not his flight suit as Ratchet had hoped. Instead, it was a camouflage uniform; the same kind that the deputies wore. Ratchet sighed and began to put it on. Looking carefully at the shirt, he noticed by the double glyph that Petrov had gotten him a size "small". Great... Putting the shirt on, he was mildly discouraged to find that it actually fit very well. "Tiny," he grumbled to himself. He shook his head, threaded his tail through the appropriate opening and dressed. Before he left however, Ratchet looked at himself in the display screen and grinned slightly. "I may be short, but I still flattened all your deputies..." Turning, he went back to the main room.

Petrov had been busy. A large beverage dispenser in the final alcove was churning out a kind of black sludge that smelled vaguely like coffee. While there seemed to be a small food preparation center next to the dispenser, it appeared to be used as often as the BetaTex was. A fine layer of dust covered the heating surfaces, and the controls appeared to be partially crusted over with some form of organic residue. A pity. The lombax realized that he had not really eaten anything for ... for ... a while! Hmmm... He still had some Nutrastix in his manifestor, but they didn't count; living off of those got boring really fast.

Petrov turned with a mug of the black sludge in each hand. Handing one to Ratchet, he said, "I'm no good in the kitchen, so I ordered out. Looks like you've been livin' off Galaxy Burger for months! Time to get some Real Food into you." He looked over to Clank. "You sure there's nothin' I can get for you?"

Clank shook his head. "There is nothing I require. But thank you for asking."

Turning back to Ratchet, Petrov began to lay out the schedule for the day. "Breakfast is on order; it'll get here any moment via teleport. The Prime Minister should already be on his way, that'll probably take him an hour or two. I'm expectin' another visitor, but I'll deal with him appropriately." He looked Ratchet in the eye. "I'll give you back your manifestor if you promise to wait here with me. You said you wanted to talk to someone in charge; well, he's comin' here. It's no use runnin' anywhere and I'm no good as a hostage. If you're cool with that, I'll give you back your manifestor, and I'll turn off the fields and let breakfast arrive."

"Fine by me," Ratchet replied. His stomach growled slightly. "Uh, what's for breakfast?"

The minister smiled and waved his gloved hand towards the door. The force fields immediately dissipated. Seconds later, several containers were teleported into the room, materializing on top of the dusty kitchen heating surfaces. Once they were in place, the minister waved his hand again, and the fields returned.

"Is that really necessary?" Clank asked. "We appear to be on reasonable terms. Why did you reactivate the force fields?"

"Oh, they're not to keep you in; they're more to keep people out. They've got a distortion field like the port-a-prisons use, only a helluva lot stronger. With the field up, there's no way anyone can hear, see or scan what we're doin' in here. Just a little privacy. I expect my first guest to show up soon, and I don't want him bargin' in unannounced." He moved to the kitchenette, loaded the boxes into his arms and brought them over to his desk. It looked like he had enough food to feed his entire squad. "Galaxy Burger's one thing, but I bet you've never had Real lombax food before." He took a sip from his mug. "Hmmm... A bit weak. I've been meanin' to adjust that. Ah well."

Ratchet acknowledged, "Nope. Never have. And Galaxy Burger's actually a step up from the Nutrastix I've been livin' on lately." There was a slightly sickened look in Petrov's face. He sarcastically repeated the advertising slogan from memory, "'Contains all of the essential nutrients required to support organic life in a convenient to carry package.' Yeah, with the texture and flavor of dirt an' all the satisfaction of a fiber supplement. Might as well skip the 'stix and eat the wrapper. Probably taste better."

Ratchet grinned; Petrov's assessment was incredibly accurate. He sniffed at the mug of sludge and found the fur on his muzzle tingling slightly. Taking a small sip, he found it to be the most foul, bitter, disgusting, vile, biliously evil concoction he had ever experienced. He took another sip. And another. Mmmm... It _was_ a little weak, though...

Petrov began opening the boxes, identifying each item as he opened them. "If I'd've know you were down to 'stix, I'd've ordered more. Here's somethin' you're probably familiar with. It's a standard burger, but unlike Galaxy Burger it actually has 'flavor'. It comes with a bit o' salad, if you're into that kind o' thing... Next, we've got some fried pterodon. They're kind of a cross between those small birds you find flyin' around Joba and some of the more carnivorous beasties on Sargasso. These're great chilled, especially late at night... Some fresh pastries; after all, it _is_ breakfast... More vegetable matter; they should know me better than that... Oh - here's one I'm sure you've never had: fresh sewer shark sashimi. Fantastic! One bite, and you'll never look at those stupid fish the same way again. Guaranteed!"

Ratchet looked a little dubiously at the red fleshed sashimi, but selected a small piece and tasted it. Wow! Petrov was right - it was really spectacular! Next time one of those sewer sharks tried to swallow him, he might take out his RYNO and return the favor...

There was more. Some were familiar, such as the 'fried moons' - bite sized balls of sweet dough fried, filled with cream or jelly and coated in sugar; another 'vegetable matter' platter of fresh fruit, most of which Ratchet did not recognize; a box of 'Stylus Shavings' sweetened cereal... It was more food than Ratchet had seen in months, and all top quality. And since he had not eaten anything at all the day before and only Nutristix and Galaxy Burger (when he could get it) for weeks, the sights and smells were overwhelming!

The last thing Petrov pulled out was a long slip of paper. Scanning it over, he mumbled to himself and pressed the communicator crystal on his glove.

Jacek? Petrov. Got the order.  
Yup. Everything's cool.  
Looking at the bill... Send it to the ministry.  
Yup.  
I know they take forever. Sorry, I don't have the bolts on me.  
Yeah, it's a ministry function.  
I'm entertaining a special guest. I'll tell you more when I see you.  
Per'aps...  
Okay. Hit it. And-a-one, and-a-two, and-a...  
This is Regional Minister Petrov Neutrino. I hereby authorize this payment as a public expense, per section three seven two paragraph "b". Authorization code gamma three.  
Great job, though; as always!  
Thanks.  
Later.

Looking to Ratchet and Clank, Petrov said, "He hates when I do that. The ministry pays, but it takes 'em _hours_ to process it. Too much maroon tape. Dig in!"

Ratchet needed little encouragement. He picked up another fragment of sewer shark...

* * *

Ratchet and Petrov had not been at their breakfast for more than ten minutes when an irate voice sounded from outside the regional headquarters. "Neutrino! Open this door and let me in immediately!" Everyone looked to the door. Through the slightly orange light of the force field, they could see a rather tall (a few centicubits taller than Petrov), thin lombax. While the field distorted the color of fur, Ratchet could see that this lombax was clearly a politician. He seemed very young, perhaps even younger than Ratchet, and he carried himself with an air of self-importance. He wore a set of wire rimmed spectacles, perched rather awkwardly on the top of his muzzle and hooked behind his ears. His dark suit was meticulously pressed, the straight lines of what seemed to be a lighter pinstripe and creases down his trousers perfectly aligned with the suit jacket that he wore. A pin with the Lombax Defense Ministry flag was prominently displayed on his lapel. His eyes scanned the opening, peering in to try and get a glimpse at those inside. Behind him was a small cluster of five or six deputies, talking among themselves and apparently waiting on instructions from the Minister.

Petrov sighed and looked down sadly at the open cartons before him. "And that would be Minister Gaiden. Perfect timing..."

He looked to Ratchet and Clank. "This'll take a few minutes. Stand against the wall with the door so he can't see you when I drop the field. As soon as I'm outside, I'll reactivate it. He won't be able to see or hear you, but you'll be able to hear us. Ratchet, help yourself to breakfast - I doubt I'll be very hungry after this one. But be ready to duck out of view when I come back in. Trust me, I'll make sure you'll know when."

Ratchet and Petrov stood from their meal. Clank was already in position, out of the line of sight from the door. Ratchet moved to join him. Petrov stopped by the door and said, "Oh. I promised to return your manifestor. I'm sure you already saw it; it's in the storage bin behind my desk. Hope you don't mind, but I sent your flight suit and armor out for a permaclean; they kinda needed it. The old jeans are in your manifestor, and your wrench is under my desk of course. Oh - and I owe you RYNO ammo; don't let me forget..." He touched a crystal on his glove and the small field above the storage bin deactivated. Ratchet ignored his gear for the moment and stood next to Clank out of view. "Here goes nothin'..." Petrov said.

Petrov waved to the door and immediately walked through it at full speed. He left absolutely no time for anyone outside to react. As soon as he was through the opening, he waved again and the field returned. Minister Gaiden, surprised by the sudden appearance of the hulking figure stalking towards him, took a step backward and fell off the doorstep, landing in the dust of the compound and dirtying his impeccably clean suit.

Safe inside the shell of privacy provided by the field, Ratchet quickly retrieved his manifestor. He looked at the crystal and verified that it was both working and that the contents were ready. Ratchet also grabbed his wrench and held it ready in his right hand, just in case things got ugly. With his left hand he grabbed another piece of sashimi and continued his breakfast while he and Clank watched the drama unfold.

N: Minister Gaiden! What splendid timing! Oh, I'm sorry. Lemme give you a hand.

He reached down and offered his hand to the fallen lombax. It was refused and Gaiden climbed to his feet.

G: You oaf! You know, sometimes I think you do that on purpose. Are they in there?  
N: Yup.  
G: Well, get them out. I am going to bring them to the central defense center and put them under heavy confinement. These regional centers are neither properly equipped nor staffed to handle this situation properly.

Neutrino ignored the slight.

N: I've got everything under control. In fact, I've already obtained a voluntary statement and I'll be showing it t' the Prime Minister as soon as he gets here.  
G: You know as well as I do that the PM has no say in this matter. It will be up to the council to decide their fate. The role of PM is mostly symbolic.  
N: True. But in matters of war, the Prime Minister does have authority over military and defense matters.  
G: That is merely a technicality. We have not truly been in a state of war for two decades.  
N: True, but it is the law. The Prime Minister will be here shortly. He'll review the statements and make his decision accordingly.  
G: As you are aware, that decision will still need to be ratified by the council, and the council will make its own decision. That is the only one that is binding.  
N: But until then, they're my charges and in my custody.  
G: No. They are coming back with me for heavy confinement. It is within my right to take control of this station. Authorization gamma six. Deputies, deactivate the force field.  
N: Stop! Stay where you are. They're in _my_ custody. Authorization code gamma _seven_!  
G: What?! You can't do that! You don't have the clearance!  
N: Check it. I can wait.

Ratchet and Clank had been listening to the exchange. It was quite obvious that while the Prime Minister would be visiting, he would not have the final say in any of these matters. Ratchet did not like the sound of the "heavy confinement" hinted at by Minister Gaiden. The lombax didn't come all this way just to be stuck in a prison cell. Again. He put his wrench back into the manifestor and drew his RYNO. "Hmmm... He _did_ use a lot of ammo," Ratchet said. "This thing's almost empty." "You should return your weapon to the manifestor," Clank replied. "We are trying to keep this a peaceful encounter." "If they don't try to put me in prison, I won't try to blow 'em up! I'm not gonna be locked up again without a fight," Ratchet replied. "It may not be necessary," Clank concluded.

G: This is ridiculous. Under whose direction are you acting?  
N: That's not your problem. Do you acknowledge the code or not?  
G: ... Acknowledged.  
N: Good. Deputies, you are instructed to return to your base. Once there, you will all register for and participate in the next available fitness course session, complements of Minister Gaiden.

There was an audible groan from the cluster of deputies, and a few dirty looks towards the Minister.

G: This is not over!  
N: No, it isn't. Wait! I'm not done yet. Minister Spiff Gaiden...

Ratchet chuckled, "Spiff?" Clank responded, "Perhaps that is why the minister is so irritable."

N: ...you are hereby ordered to remain here as an honor guard for the Prime Minister. Please stand at attention against the wall by the door until he arrives and you are ordered to stand down.

There was a choked, squeaking sound.

G: I will make you pay for this!  
N: MOVE!

Ratchet and Clank caught the hint and moved to the wall outside of the line of sight from the door. Ratchet put the RYNO back into the manifestor. They heard stomping footsteps outside the building and a muttering too low to make out. Apparently, "Spiff" was doing the same.

They saw the force field deactivate and Regional Minister Petrov Neutrino strode in. As soon as he had passed through the threshold, he waved his glove. The force field, and their privacy, returned. They heard some muttered profanity through the barred window.

"That was more fun than I ever dreamed!" Petrov seemed delighted. "I should've done that years ago. Of course, it'll mean a helluva lot of trouble later with the council. But that was _so_ worth it!" He looked around and saw Ratchet and Clank against the wall and started to laugh. "I didn't mean you two. But smart move anyway." He strode over to the desk / breakfast table and sat down, waving for the pair to join him. Noticing that the manifestor was now on Ratchet's glove, he turned to Clank and asked, "Clank, when Spiff started talkin' 'confinement', did Ratchet pull out the RYNO?" Clank looked down, but did not respond. "Good! I'd've done the same thing." He grabbed a pterodon thigh. "Please. Sit. Eat. We've got an hour or so until the Prime Minister shows up. Might as well finish breakfast."

"But what about Minister Gaiden?" Clank asked.

"He can get his own," Ratchet replied, sitting down and grabbing a chunk of the burger. It was far superior to Galaxy Burger's generic line. Petrov started to choke slightly and then broke into laughter. "I like your style, Ratchet," he told the lombax with a smile. "I know you've both got plenty of questions. But I'm gonna to have to answer the same questions for the Prime Minister, so I'd rather do it just once. Meanwhile, help yourself - there's plenty here."

* * *


	10. Chapter 08

**Chapter 8: Playback**

Ratchet pushed himself away from the desk with an extremely contented sigh. He had been living for days on the Nutrastix in his manifestor, and a combination of Galaxy Burger and whatever he could grab on the run for weeks before that. This meal was a feast to the lombax, and he showed it a healthy respect. Between himself and Petrov, the two lombaxes had finished almost everything in sight, leaving only half a platter of "vegetable matter", the unopened box of Stylus Shavings and two pteradon drumsticks. The pteradon Petrov put into the kitchen cooling unit for later snacking. Ratchet tucked the Stylus Shavings into his manifestor 'for an emergency'. They were about to clean up the debris when they heard a rocket sled outside. Ratchet looked up quickly - it sounded like there was something wrong with it. But the thrusters cycled down before he could place it and then there was the sound of footsteps approaching.

Walking across the compound was a lombax about the height of Gaiden, but stockier and more athletic. Unlike Gaiden's approach, the newcomer seemed very at ease with his surroundings. He appeared to be about Petrov's age, wore heavy work boots, well worn jeans with a number of what might have been thruster burns on them. The lombax wore a vest of what looked like some kind of animal skin (possibly leviathan), his arms bare and his fur blowing around in the steady breeze. A large chain of some type of metal (perhaps raritanium, but Ratchet could not tell from this distance through the distortion field) dangled from the right pocket of the vest. His ears were sticking out of a leather cap very similar to Ratchet's with the exception of two parallel rows of small crystals on it running front to back, scattering the sunlight across the compound. The newcomer's left ear had a scar as though some kind of turbo blade had taken a chunk out of it at one time in the past. There was no sign of his tail, and that void seemed very obvious after spending some time on New Fastoon.

The stranger approached the compound and stopped a few cubits from the door. He looked to the side. "Spiff? Minister Gaiden? What're you doing here?"

"Mr. Prime Minister, sir." Gaiden almost spat out the words. It was clear from the tone in his voice that he held the official in complete contempt. "I am here at the orders of _Regional_ Minister Neutrino. I am ordered to remain here as an honor guard for your arrival, and I am to stay until dismissed. Permission to withdraw, sir?" The voice was livid and the titles loaded with plenty of Leviathan venom.

The Prime Minister looked down and covered his face with his hand for a second, took a deep breath to steady himself and said, "Permission granted. Go home and grab something to eat or ... whatever."

"Sir, I need your authorization code, sir." Gaiden wasn't letting it go. "I was bound here with a level seven protocol."

"Damn! Okay, fine. Permission granted. Code gamma eight."

"Thank YOU, sir." Gaiden said sharply. He stomped off across the compound and summoned a hovercab. Within seconds, he was gone.

"PETROV!! What in the name of Fastoon do you think you're doing!!"

* * *

Listening to the exchange, Ratchet, Clank and Petrov hastily cleaned the remains of the breakfast containers. Following a gesture from Petrov, the pair sat down on the unmade bed in the second alcove. "Lemme talk to him first," Petrov said. "I probably need to calm him down a bit. And whatever you do, don't draw any weapons. He may not look it, but he's extremely fast and a helluva good fighter."

"Do not worry, sir. We do not want to make this any more difficult than it already is." Clank replied. Ratchet nodded, and his eyes were draw to the cover of book on the nightstand. With a faint "oooh!" he picked up the book and began to flip through it. Great diagrams, but it was written in lombax. He thought to himself that he really needed to sit down with Clank and brush up on the language one of these days.

When he was sure that everything (and everyone) was in the proper place, Petrov waved his hand and lowered the field. The Prime Minister stalked in quickly, his clear, dark brown eyes narrowed with anger as he went straight for Petrov. He did not even notice Ratchet and Clank in the alcove. The force field sprung up again, but neither Ratchet nor Clank saw any gesture on the part of Neutrino.

"What'd'y think you're doing?" The Prime Minister's voice was loud and angry. "YOU'RE the one that didn't want the added authorization codes. YOU'RE the one that said you'd never use 'em. YOU'RE the one that keeps talkin' about 'patience' and 'caution'. YOU said you wouldn't use it except in an emergency! YOU'RE the one that's gonna have to pay the price!" He absently reached his gloved hand behind his back and unfastened something with what sounded like a metal snap. The Prime Minister's tail sank back to its proper place behind him. Ratchet noticed that part of the tuft appeared to have been burned away some time earlier and was just now starting to grow back. His eyes widened slightly - that was a great idea! He had already burned his own tail tuft a few times when it had inadvertently blown into the stream of thruster exhaust from his sled; it was rather painful and took weeks to grow back properly...

"It was an emergency," Petrov replied. "Spiff was tryin' to take control of this station, and I couldn't permit that until you had a chance to meet my guests and hear me out."

"Guests?" The Prime Minister looked around the room and spotted Ratchet and Clank. Ratchet still had the alpha cannon book in one hand (upside down) and lifted it slightly in the Prime Minister's direction in acknowledgement. Clank gave a small wave. Absent-mindedly, the Prime Minister looked at them, waved a gloved hand back with a practiced half-smile and said, "Hi." He turned back to Petrov and said, "Look. You said it was important. But Spiff's not gonna let this go. He's gonna find out why you have the extra access. You won't be able to stay here - if they remove you from office, they'll put you on the council. I thought you didn't want that."

"I don't, but sacrifices have to be made, and this was worth it. Allow me to introduce my guests. Ratchet, Clank, I'd like you to meet Prime Minister Reginald Solstice. Reg, I'd like you to meet Ratchet and Clank, the two infiltrators from Fastoon."

Minister Solstice was moving forward to shake their hands when "infiltrators" came out. He stopped cold. He looked them over. Twice. Keeping a careful eye on the pair, he said to Petrov, "You're yankin' my tail, right?" Ratchet bristled and Clank poked him in the ribs. "Serious, Reg. These two took down two dozen femto-fighters, four missile array drones and the entire local squad. Without significant injuries, using non-lethals. The only way we were able to nab 'em was by gassing the entire block and having what was left of the squad rush him to rip his O2 mask off."

Solstice eyed the pair again, looking them over with a new respect. He finished his original gesture and offered his hand to both in turn. "Impressive! Petrov keeps his deputies in good form, too, unlike some of the regions. Nice to meet you. Now, how'd you get here and why?"

"I've done that already," Petrov replied. "I've interviewed them with the BetaTex. You must see this crystal. When you do, you'll understand."

"The BetaTex?" He looked over at the machine in the adjacent alcove, and then back at Ratchet. "You let this maniac," gesturing towards Petrov, "hook you up to that thing?" Ratchet did not reply.

"We did not have much alternative at the time, sir," Clank replied.

"Did he at least turn the failsafe on this time?" Solstice asked Clank. "Last time he used it, he forgot. The poor dude hit 84 on the meters and was asleep for hours afterward!" Looking at Petrov, he added, "I still don't remember anything that happened that night, you know."

Clank recalled the failsafe switch - the one that was never engaged. "What is the failsafe mechanism for?" he asked.

"The failsafe is an emergency cutoff. If the stress readings get above 80, a warning triggers and the failsafe kicks in. It disables the probes from scanning any deeper, calms the lombax down and returns him or her to a relaxed state. It's to prevent burnout and over-stressing the neural systems. Without it, you get caught in a loop, deeper and deeper, until... well... you don't want to know... Let me guess; he left it off didn't he?"

Clank did not respond.

"Idiot," Solstice mumbled. "How bad was it?"

"Aw, come'on Reg," Petrov started. "It was important and we needed irrefutable proof for the council..."

"A number, Petrov..."

"91..."

The Prime Minister looked at Petrov in horror, and then at Ratchet. He slipped to one knee in front of the seated lombax, shook his hand once again and said in a well practiced tone, "On behalf of the governing body of New Fastoon, I would like to offer my most sincere apologies for the callous mistreatment of Regional Minister Petrov Neutrino. The stupid git!"

"Reg, you need to see this recording." He held the padded box in his hand. "Tachyon's dead. Ratchet and Clank took him out, and a lot of others like him. It's all here. And," Petrov's voice dropped to a whisper even though the force field protected their privacy, "he might be the Keeper's son."

Solstice fell silent. He looked very closely at Ratchet. He looked at the box in Petrov's hands. After a moment, he said heavily, "Okay. But not here. Your prank on Gaiden'll be costly - he's probably already gathering the council to remove you and take control of this building. And I certainly don't want you at the controls of the BetaTex for playback."

"Aw, come'on. You were at the controls for my training session."

"Two words: 'fail' 'safe'. No way I'm lettin' you near the controls. And that machine looks like a relic from the Great War."

"Who, then?"

"Doc Tesseract. He's studied the prototype dimensionator's designs and was one of the lead engineers during the Flight. And unlike you, he knows something about neural activity..." Clank chuckled at the double-meaning. Ratchet and Petrov did not notice. "I'm glad somebody got it..." Solstice muttered. "Let's get this over with."

Without warning, a teleporter pad appeared in the center of the room. It had not been there a few moments ago. Petrov chuckled, "Reg, you've _got_ to get me one of those things." "Aw, shut up," Solstice grumbled as he snapped his tail into the restraint behind his back. "You know how much I hate teleporting. It gives me the creeps."

The four of them climbed onto the venting pad, with Solstice standing rigidly with his eyes closed in the very center of the platform. The scanner arms rose up and in a flash of energy, they were gone.

* * *

Doctor Sherman Tesseract was lounging in his study. His bare yellow feet were propped up on an ornately carved desk. He wore a set of green surgical scrubs that were heavily wrinkled from having been slept in. Repeatedly. The white lab coat also showed signs of long term wear, with a dried ink stain just under the empty breast pocket. The lombax's fur was a combination of yellow, orange and brown, but something was off. A close inspection would show that there was no hint of silver anywhere, unusual in a lombax of his advanced years. But the stripes were a solid color with no natural variation at all, as though they had been painted on. Even the tail tuft was one orange blob, with the hairs caked together. The doctor was the apparent recipient of a very obvious, low quality dye job...

Doctor Tesseract, or simply "Doc" as he preferred to be called, had an open book (Time Dilation and the Status Meeting) lying on his chest, one hand still holding it by the spine. His eyes behind the thick lenses of his spectacles were closed, and a grating snore issued from his open jaw. The desk his feet were resting on was scattered with dozens of papers, a hyperband display tablet, a few drinking vessels (some with dried black sludge in them, others stuffed with writing implements), some stray books and holovids. Shelves lined the walls of the small room, stacked high with more books and holovids. Most were covered with a thick layer of dust, as though very little in this room ever actually moved.

There was a flash of energy as the teleport completed. Ratchet, Clank, Petrov and Solstice were standing next to the sleeping scientist. They looked at each other, listening to the lombax snore. Solstice whispered to Ratchet and Clank, "Whatever you do, don't say anything about his fur. He's real sensitive about it." Petrov chuckled, motioned the others to be silent, and bellowed "MEDIC!" at the top of his lungs.

Tesseract jumped, his jade green eyes popping wide. His feet swept to the floor, knocking one of the stacks of papers, the display tablet and a cup full of writing implements to the floor. The book was thrown directly at Petrov, and caught him right in the chest. The lombax glanced around rapidly, stood and turned to face the intruders. Ratchet noticed that here, finally, was someone approximately his height. He was getting a little self conscious about looking up at everyone all the time. He looked down at Clank standing on his right. At least Clank could go into giant mode any time he wanted to...

"What do you want? Don't you people ever knock?" Tesseract said testily. "I'm trying to finish some important research for the Prime Minister..."

"You can give it to me later," Solstice said.

"Reg? What brings you here? And Petrov?? Oh, by Fastoon - the two of you in the same room at the same time?"

"Hey, doc," Petrov said in greeting. "Oh, here's your 'research', by the way." He held the book open and handed it back to the doctor. A pamphlet for fur replacement was lodged in the book at the open pages.

"Thanks," Tesseract muttered. He looked at Ratchet and Clank. "And who are you two?"

"I'm Ratch...", Ratchet started, but was immediately interrupted as Solstice put a hand on his shoulder. "Not just yet. We can save a lot of time here. Doc, we need a favor."

"Like I never would've guessed that one," the doctor joked sarcastically. "It must be a big one for the two of you to show up like this. Unannounced... ...Through my defenses..." He looked at Solstice. "Did you teleport in?" Solstice nodded. "Wow. You're serious, aren't you. What'd'y need?"

Solstice replied, "I need you to run a BetaTex playback for me..."

"That's harmless," the doctor replied. "You don't need me for that. I mean even Petrov..." He stopped mid sentence, and stared at Petrov. "I understand. Let me guess: failsafe?" Solstice nodded. "Typical... Follow me."

* * *

The doctor led them out of his study and down a narrow hallway to a workroom. It reminded Ratchet of Big Al's shop back on Kerwan. There were crates and parts everywhere, scattered in a seemingly random fashion. There was a central counter where half assembled machines and gadgets vied for repair. Soft music was playing from a small portable receiver buried somewhere under the debris.

Moving through the workroom, he came to an alcove hidden behind a maroon curtain. Pulling the curtain aside revealed another BetaTex system; but unlike the one in the regional office, this system appeared to be well cared for. All of the wiring was hidden in carefully wrapped bundles, the equipment was clean and hummed with activity. The monitors appeared to all work properly without percussive encouragement. But in spite of all that, Ratchet still felt a chill looking at the chair. Especially seeing those weblike straps...

"I really don't want to go through that again," Ratchet said. "I don't remember much of it, but just lookin' at that thing gives me shivers."

"You don't have to," the Prime Minister replied. "This one's for me. But at least I'll have someone competent at the controls." He climbed up into the chair and closed his eyes. Petrov fixed the straps into place, tightening them closed with a sudden jerk. "Hey! That hurts, you know!" Solstice said. "Yeah, I know," Petrov replied with a slightly sarcastic grin.

The doctor looked at Petrov. "I know you forgot the failsafe. But I need to know what the maximum stress level was so I can calibrate accordingly." Petrov looked down and muttered something inaudible. "What?" "91!" The doctor glanced at Ratchet. "I suppose he was the victim for that debacle. No wonder he doesn't want to repeat it. Can't blame him a bit. I hope you at least gave him a good night's sleep after." Looking over to Solstice, he whispered "Wise move coming here."

Petrov opened the both the storage box and the glass panel. He placed the cube inside the open recess. It floated in the cavity and began to spin, picking up momentum from the energy fields that held it in place. The lasers flared and started to scan the crystal surface.

Petrov looked at Ratchet and Clank. "Uh, Doc, is there somewhere they can go that's safe?" "Don't worry. I locked down the house with a force field as soon as we arrived," Solstice said. "We won't be interrupted." Petrov looked down. "I don't mean that. The session was a bit 'extreme', especially towards the end. They don't really need to watch a repeat, do they?" He gestured to Ratchet and Clank. "There's no need to put 'em both through that, is there?"

Solstice opened his eyes and looked at the pair. "Doc, what'd'y think?"

"Well, why don't they return to my study. There is a lot of good reading material there, including my notes on the original dimensionator prototype..."

"Works for us," Ratchet said. "Come'on Clank. I can't watch this."

"I will be right behind you," Clank replied. Ratchet looked at the chair one last time, shuddered and withdrew. Clank looked at the Prime Minister. "Thank you. From what I have seen, I know that this must be a very difficult process for you. We both appreciate your interest and hope that this information proves useful to your people."

Solstice looked at Clank. "I'm still not 100 sure what this is all about. But Petrov wouldn't have done this without a really good reason. And even though he's an idiot," Solstice glared at Petrov briefly, "I'd trust him with my life. This must be important. I hope he's right. But, if it makes you feel any better, it's a lot easier with the failsafe on, and experiencing a playback is far less unpleasant than being recorded." He closed his eyes. "I'm ready."

Doctor Tesseract pushed the green button. Clank watched as the labels all turned to a solid green. The doctor threw the failsafe switch, which illuminated with a pulsing red light. Clank looked at the gathered lombaxes and their equipment. He turned to return to the study and to Ratchet. Tesseract's voice followed him, "Playback commencing in three... two... one..."

On his way out the door, Clank could hear Petrov's voice emanating from a set of speakers next to the vision display: "Don't worry. It's just a loose bulb..."

* * *

Clank returned to the doctor's study to find Ratchet hacking into the display tablet. Watching Ratchet work the device, he could tell that there was something wrong - the lombax seemed distracted and was not performing at his best. After a few unsuccessful attempts, Ratchet put the hacker and tablet down and looked around the study.

"Well, Clank. What'd'y think of New Fastoon?"

"I believe that the Prime Minister will be sympathetic to our situation. While I do not know if the lombaxes will return to Polaris, at least they have been informed that Tachyon's threat has been eliminated."

"Yeah," Ratchet replied. "We gave 'em the message. What they do with it's their problem." He fell silent for a few moments. "Clank, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't've dragged you into this. I wanted to let 'em know it was safe; that they could come home. I never thought it'd be like this..." His voice faded to a low growl.

"Ratchet, be reasonable," Clank replied. "It has been nearly twenty years since the lombaxes fled Fastoon. They have built a new home here. We have done everything we set out to do - we told them what they needed to know. And you should be pleased with that. Beyond that, there is nothing more that could have been gained from this mission."

"Yeah," Ratchet said in a distracted voice. "Nothing more."

Clank looked up at his friend's drooping ears and tail. Even if Ratchet's ears could not hear the BetaTex playback in the work room, he still could. And while Ratchet may not remember the interrogation, one thing had been made very clear to Clank: the lombax desperately needed to know of his own origins. Even though he may not consciously know it himself or willingly acknowledge it, the same powerful curiosity that drove the lombax race to create and explore the universe was forcing Ratchet to search for answers. In this, they had not succeeded.

Wanting to distract his friend, Clank scanned the holovid collection. "Ratchet, I have found something that may be useful. It appears to be compatible with our technology." Using the heli-pack, Clank floated to the second shelf above their heads. He selected a holovid case and returned it to the Ratchet. Ratchet looked at it and recognized the familiar logo, but his ears drooped even further. "Clank, what does it say?" he asked in a defeated voice. "I can't read lombax. I'm a lombax and I can't even read the language..."

This was not going as Clank had hoped. "It says, 'The Leonid Compendium of Historical Importantness: The Flight of the Lombaxes and the Keeper of the Dimensionator.' Perhaps it will have some information about the battle in the Court of Azimuth."

Ratchet looked up sharply on hearing the title, his ears perking. "Is there a holovid player around? As long as we're stuck here, we might as well try to find out what's going on." Clank scanned the room, the probe on his antenna pulsing. "Yes. In the middle left drawer of the desk." Ratchet opened the drawer to reveal a small, portable holoplayer. He inserted the media into the display unit, and Clank moved beside him to watch.

"Welcome to another depressing episode of The Leonid Compendium of Historical Importantness.

"This week: the Flight of the Lombaxes and the Keeper of the Dimensionator.

"After the treachery of self proclaimed Emperor Percival Tachyon was revealed, the remaining lombaxes gathered together on Fastoon. They realized that the Polaris galaxy would remain in continual danger while Tachyon and his drophyd forces sought out and destroyed every member of their race. In an effort to save Polaris from further destruction, Lombax Prime Minister Charles Neutrino issued a proposition to the Emperor. In exchange for the safety of Polaris, the lombaxes offered to enter a voluntary exile equivalent to what had been done to the cragmites. Tachyon agreed.

"Unfortunately, the dimensionator was still very unstable, and only operated under the strictest control of the Lombax Defense Ministry. During the initial phases of testing, and in the period of exploration following the Great War, many prototype operators experienced neurological problems ranging from headaches, disorientation, intense pain, unconsciousness and, in at least nine confirmed cases, death. These effects were later determined to be caused by a design fault, allowing energy to feed back between the rift inducer and the neural matrix. The symptoms were cumulative, and the severity increased with each exposure to the neural interface."

Clank paused the playback, "This would explain the problems you have encountered using the dimensionator. Every time you have opened a portal, you have experienced a progressively worse reaction, and were unconscious for an increasingly greater period of time."

Ratchet nodded. "Yeah. Last time around it was horrible... I don't like the sound of that 'confirmed cases' bit... But it explains a lot." He reactivated the playback.

"To minimize this risk, one volunteer was sought to act as a single operator for the device. He would open and maintain a single portal while the others passed through the rift to New Fastoon, a world in the Leonid Galaxy discovered during the dimensionator trials. Many of the younger pilots, military and general adventurers offered. The selection was made by IRIS via hyperband link based on criteria that would allow the lombax to evade Tachyon's forces: the lombax's agility, stamina, piloting skills, creativity, resourcefulness and mechanical talent. Sadly, all records and references to the Keeper's identity were destroyed in the attack on the Court of Azimuth and in the chaos surrounding the establishment of New Fastoon. This is the only known image of this individual. Anyone..."

Ratchet paused the holovid. The image of a single lombax pilot, unusually short for the species, stood leaning against his fighter. While the details of his stripes and fur patterns were obscured by his flight suit, the shape of his ears and the colorations on his tail were a very close resemblance to that of Ratchet. The pilot's eyes were a deep forest green, intelligent and had a somewhat mischievous sparkle. He wore a smug grin and held what appeared to be some kind of tool in his right hand. The ship he was casually leaning against looked very much like...

"Ratchet, that is Aphelion," Clank commented.

"I know," Ratchet said softly. "Somehow, I've always known..."

Clank looked up at his friend. The BetaTex had shown that this speculation was within Ratchet's mind, but buried rather deeply. Perhaps this would be of use to the lombax, and give him a sense of his own history. Ratchet stared at the screen for a long time in silence. His hand reached out to touch the display panel... Then he stirred, his ears perked up as he shook his head slightly, as though clearing away a dream, and he moved his reaching hand to resume the playback.

"... that can provide information on the identity of this pilot should contact the ministry central office or the Azimuth Memorial Museum. The Keeper, as this individual has come to be known, opened the portal to allow the lombaxes to migrate to New Fastoon. Rather than travel through the rift himself, the Keeper remained on Fastoon with his infant son, sealing the portal behind the Prime Minister, the last lombax to travel through the rift. It was later learned that the Prime Minister had charged the Keeper with a mission to erase all references to New Fastoon, and that Neutrino had provided the Keeper detailed instructions, including emergency access overrides for IRIS and the locations of all dimensionator development and test facilities.

"It is widely believed that the Keeper remained in Polaris to carry out those tasks, and then destroyed the dimensionator prototype. There has been no further contact from or information about the fate of the Keeper or his son.

"This concludes another depressing chapter of the Leonid Compendium of Historical Importantness."

* * *


	11. Chapter 09

**Chapter 9: Connections**

Ratchet stared at the blank holovid screen. So much possibility, so much emotion and so much pain, compressed down to a short newsreel. He looked over to Clank and his eyes were moist. He wiped them with his gloved hand. Without saying anything, he put his hand on Clank's shoulder and just stood for a moment. Then, in a whisper, he said, "Thanks, Clank."

Clank looked up at the lombax and smiled. "You should put that holovid into your manifestor," Clank recommended. "The equipment on Aphelion is compatible with this media. I am certain that you may wish to view it again. And I am also certain that Talwyn and Al may wish to as well."

Ratchet smiled. "Good idea." He carefully put the media back in the case, and tucked the holovid and the portable projector into his manifestor. "Just in case there's a compatibility problem..." Ratchet explained, justifying the theft. Sighing softly, he picked up his hacker again and went back to work on the display panel. Within a few seconds, Ratchet broke the authorization and was able to access the pad. While most of the icons were in lombax, he did see a few that he recognized. "Check this out, Clank! Doc must love his 'research'; he's got a whole collection of games on here!" He clicked on one of the icons and was soon lost in the action.

Clank watched him for a while, but eventually became distracted. He could still hear the playback from the BetaTex in the other room, and he was following along the entire session. His memory had recorded all of the events from the recording, and it was as though he was watching Ratchet relive the entire ordeal again. Clank looked over to the lombax, lost in the game he was playing. He was comforted that Ratchet retained no memory of that session, and that he could not detect the audio playback. Clank went to stand next to where Ratchet was sitting and watched him play the vidgame.

Eventually, Clank heard Ratchet's repeated whisper of "nothing", and finally his own voice. Looking up to Ratchet, he explained, "The BetaTex recording is almost over. It is time to return to the others."

"You can hear it in here?" Ratchet said looking up surprised. "Wow, your sensors are sharp. I can't hear a thing. What does it sound like?" "You do not want to know," Clank replied softly. "Get ready. As soon as the recording completes, I will lead you to the others."

Clank led Ratchet down the hall and they stood outside the closed door of the workroom. From this proximity, Ratchet was barely able to distinguish his own voice, wishing Clank good night. After that, silence. Not a single sound came from behind the closed door. They waited a full minute in the eerie stillness, and then Clank knocked heavily on the door. When no one came, he pushed it open.

Regional Minister Petrov Neutrino was retrieving the crystal from the chamber, and his back was towards the door. He already had the padded case prepared and placed the cube into it. His ears were drooping low and his tail sagged.

Doctor Sherman Tesseract stood to the side of the Prime Minister. His right hand rested on top of Reg's shoulder in a gesture very similar to Ratchet's moments earlier, both seeking comfort and offering it at the same time. Doc's jade eyes stared blankly at the empty vision monitor. Clank recalled the last image that was displayed there from the recording session - Ratchet's outstretched hand reaching towards the portal to New Fastoon.

Prime Minister Reginald Solstice was sitting up in the BetaTex. The straps had already been undone and he had been released from the electronic grip of the machine. His head was bowed, his ears were low and his tail hung limply over the side of the chair. His gloved hands hid his face as his head slowly shook as though sobbing. His bare muscular arms, left exposed by the vest, trembled. The other two lombaxes in the room had merely had to watch from the perspective of the monitors - Reg Solstice had lived through it, all of it, in a very compressed time.

Ratchet looked at the scene with some dismay. He felt very uncomfortable, as though he had walked in on a funeral. Looking down at Clank, he gave the robot a puzzled, questioning look. Clank blinked up at him and shook his head, once, firmly.

Subtlety was not Ratchet's strong point. He cleared his throat and asked in an overly loud voice, "Did we come at a bad time?" The words reverberated in the room. All three lombaxes stiffened and looked at Ratchet and Clank standing in the doorway. The Prime Minister moved first, slowly edging his way unsteadily out of the BetaTex chair. When he was on his feet and seemed stable, he walked, shaking, over towards Petrov.

Ratchet didn't see it coming. Petrov warned him that Reg was fast, but Ratchet could never have imagined exactly how fast... One instant, Reg was walking over towards Petrov. A walloper appeared on his right hand, Reg's fist punched the lombax full in the stomach, Petrov doubled over and the walloper vanished; all in one fluid motion that lasted no more than a tenth of a second. As Petrov fell to his knees, the air knocked out of his lungs, Reg stood over him saying in a shaking voice, "If you EVER do that kind of thing again, I will personally remove your tail and hang it as a decoration from my sled. Do you understand me?" His left hand absently massaged his scarred ear. "Yes, Reg," Petrov gasped. Satisfied, Solstice nodded, reached out his hand and helped the larger lombax up from the floor.

The strange silence continued. Ratchet fidgeted slightly, feeling a bit self conscious. After all, it had been his brain that they were watching. "Do you believe that the recording will be of benefit to your people, Prime Minister?" Clank asked. Solstice looked at Clank and said in a voice barely above a whisper, "I'll tell 'em; but if I have my way, no one else will ever see that crystal..." Shaking his head, Solstice gathered himself, walked to where Ratchet and Clank stood in the doorway, sank down on his knee again, looked up at Ratchet, offered his hand and in his best professional voice began, "On behalf of the gov - aw, screw it!" He reached out and grabbed both Ratchet and Clank in a bear hug. Ratchet was caught completely off guard and was extremely embarrassed; squirming against the extraordinarily tight grip. "Uh, hi... Does... that mean you believe us?" Solstice merely squeezed tighter, until Ratchet was struggling for air as Petrov had been earlier. Clank added, "Prime Minister, do you think your people will return to Fastoon?" Solstice released the pair and climbed to his feet. "I hope so. And please, call me Reg."

Petrov finally recovered his breath. "That's why I called you so early. That's why I overrode Spiff. I knew what was at stake. I knew you'd want to see it yourself, no matter how painful it was." Reg looked over to Petrov, "I thought you were just yankin' my tail. You're right, of course. I just need a minute - that was... extreme..."

Petrov stowed the crystal into his manifestor.

"So, where do we go from here?" Doc asked in a quiet voice, his eyes on Ratchet and Clank.

Reg stood and thought for a few minutes. Then he addressed them all. "Okay. Here's what we do. I'll go to the council meeting. Spiff called an emergency session to have Petrov removed from his regional command."

"A special meeting for lil ol' me?" Petrov broke in. "I'm honored!"

Reg slowly grinned. "Don't be. You know the price if they remove you. But, in a way, I hope they'll take the bait. That'll just give us more leverage. I'll go to the meeting and relate what I've learned. The council will do whatever they want anyway.

"Petrov, I want you to start working on a Plan B. I hope the council will listen to reason, or at least that they won't do something stupid. But I've played the game too long to expect that. I also want you to grab the prototype and bring it back here. It deserves a place of honor in the Azimuth Museum." Petrov nodded. "Done." A teleporter appeared in the middle of the room. Petrov walked over to it, but did not step on it immediately. He grabbed his tail and held it in front of his body tightly, then walked onto the pad. "It's not that I don't trust you, Reg..." he began. The scanner arms shot up, and he was gone.

"Doc, do you have any information about Azimuth and the Keeper? Anything might help."

"I have that old holovid..."

Ratchet answered, "If you're thinking about the Compendium vid, Clank found it while we were in your office. We watched it earlier. If you don't mind, I'd like to keep it."

Doc answered, "Be my guest, I can always get another copy. I'm not aware of any further information, but I'll do a search. And I'm sure you have other questions..."

Reg nodded. "Done then. I'll keep a field around this house at all times. It'll take the entire council to override me." He grabbed his tail and secured it behind his back. Ratchet couldn't help it. "Minis-, uh, Reg?" Reg turned to face Ratchet, a curious look in his face. "I ride a rocket sled, among a lot of other toys. That snap's the best idea I've seen in a while. So simple, yet so effective. I've already burned my tuft a few times on thruster exhaust." Reg smiled. "Actually, it was Chuck's idea. Petrov's dad. He was always full of practical ideas like that." He closed his eyes for a second. "My ride's here. I've already let the council know I'll be attending, so they're expecting me."

"Good luck, Reg," Clank said.

"Thanks. I'll need it." Reg turned and strode from the room. As he opened the exterior door, the field around the house dropped for the fraction of a second it took him to step over the threshold, and then it returned.

* * *

Doc turned to Ratchet and Clank. "I hate to disappoint you Ratchet, but there were no inquiries or leads generated by the newsreel. I'm afraid I don't have any more information about your identity." Ratchet's ears drooped slightly, but Ratchet tried to hide the disappointment in his voice. "That's okay. I know more than I did when I got here. And I think I'm flying my father's old ship. That's something." The doctor smiled at Ratchet, and turned to Clank. He gave Clank a strange, searching look. Clank responded, "I was present when the recording was made, so I am fully aware of its contents. Do not be concerned. We will follow up on any leads as the opportunity presents itself." Ratchet looked at Clank a little suspiciously, "What'd'y mean?" Clank looked back and replied, "One thing at a time, Ratchet. First we must complete our business here." Ratchet nodded. "Fair enough..."

"So, Doc," he said, "What's the deal with Petrov and Reg? Are they related or something?"

Doc's eyes took on a slightly misty look. "No. But they might as well be. The Solstice and the Neutrino families've been close for generations; all the way back to the Great War. Reg and Petrov've known each other since they were born. They've been friends since they could walk. Well, in their case, run.

"I actually tutored the pair for a while. They're so different, and yet alike in a lotta ways. Reg was always the impulsive one; an adequate student but with flashes of insight and brilliance that bordered on genius. Petrov was more of a steady, solid sort; consistently great, but never spectacular. But they both were extremely bright and loved adventure. They also had the same somewhat skewed sense of humor and a natural gift for mayhem. Either one was a danger on their own; put the two of 'em together and you had a natural disaster on your hands."

"Why would Reg threaten to cut off Petrov's tail?" Clank inquired. "It seems unusual given their attachment to each other."

"I don't think he'd ever _really_ do it," Tesseract replied. "At least, not really... Probably... But then, you never know... After the mishap where he lost his ear..."

Ratchet broke in, startled, "Reg lost an ear? I saw the scar, but I thought it was just from a blade of some sort."

Tesseract smiled back. "Thank you. That was actually some of my best work. His left ear is actually an implant with organic elements. You'd never know looking at him, and the programming responds directly to his nerve signals just like his right ear. But, yes, it's artificial. The scar was an artistic touch; his choice, not mine. I think he thinks it 'looks cool'.

"The two of 'em were just kits, I'd guess about four years old. They were roughhousing as always, and they were really too young to understand how a teleporter worked. Petrov grabbed Reg's ear and yanked when Reg jumped onto the pad. It was outside the scanning arms, and, well, didn't transport with Reg. Obviously they're both fine, but even now Reg is a bit teleporter phobic. Anyway, they've been inseparable most of their lives.

"Petrov's father was Prime Minister during the Drophyd War, and he was the one that brokered the deal with Tachyon." Doc sighed and his ears drooped slightly. "Both Petrov and Reg were in the Lombax Defense Ministry at the time. But their talents went in different directions. Petrov was a natural leader, eventually becoming a general. He was one of the first through the rift and got things stable on this side. Reg was a mechanic and into electronics; he was an adventurer working a number of intelligence missions, gathering information and causing havoc for the drophyds.

"After the war, Petrov 'retired' to avoid the council. Well, sorta... You've gotta understand the nature of lombaxes and our government." He smiled at Clank, his ears perking back up. "In case you hadn't noticed, lombaxes tend to be individualistic, loyal, a smidgen chaotic and prone to curiosity and adventure to the point of recklessness."

Clank chuckled and nodded, "I have experienced this erratic behavior to a greater or lesser extent in most organic species, but in lombaxes most notably." He looked up at Ratchet. The lombax looked mildly put out. Clank met Ratchet's eyes, grinned and concluded, "Some individuals more than others." Ratchet grinned slightly and flicked at the antenna on Clank's head with his finger.

"Exactly. Government's not our thing. So, we're pretty much on our own, with the exception of a council to set the general framework. Their goals are to act as a central voice for the lombaxes, to prevent us from wiping ourselves out accidentally and to deal with the day to day administrivia of New Fastoon. The council's composed of nine members; usually retired generals, adventurers and administrators. The members aren't there by choice - they're drafted from the ranks of their professions based on ability and required to serve. Right now, there're eight members with one vacancy. Petrov's that vacancy. As a combat general, he has level seven authorization and should be on the council right now. Somehow he hid his records from 'em. Minister Gaiden is the junior-most member, but all level six or seven clearance holders are supposed to be on the council."

Clank had a thought. "Would Petrov's identity be hidden from the council if he took a lesser job, starting over with a completely new, but lower, security rating? For example, as a regional defense minister, Ratchet and I witnessed him perform official acts, but always with a level three clearance."

Tesseract blinked. "Brilliant! Yes, that would work. He'd have two classifications, one low enough to avoid detection and his old one to fall back on, if he needed it later. He could remain hidden in the new role as long as he never used the higher clearance - that would set off maroon flags everywhere. Of course, it would need to be set up initially and the override approved by someone even higher..." His voice trailed off and an amused gleam filled his eyes. "Of course... Reg... That's just their style..."

Tesseract's amused expression grew into an intensely proud (and somewhat smug) look. "Service on the council isn't voluntary. There've been a few that've tried to dodge before. Petrov is the first I've ever heard of that got away with it for more than a few months. Someday, he may be remembered more for that alone than anything he accomplished in his career as a general... or on the council...

"So how's Reg fit into all this?" Ratchet asked. "How'd he get to be Prime Minister, if this council controls everything. Spiff hate's his guts."

Tesseract's tail twitched and his smug grin grew even wider. "Lombax nature. Basically, both the council and the general populace knew that such a stable system was inherently boring; alien to lombax nature. So they elected a Prime Minister. In wartime, the PM has a significant role; he or she's in charge of military coordination and is the central executive. But in peacetime, the PM is a wildcard, a spoiler; a single lombax acting as he sees fit for the benefit and amusement of the lombax nation. The Prime Minister's security level is set higher than any council member, so it takes unanimous vote to override him. Basically, Reg's job is, quite literally, to stir things up and keep things interesting..."

Clank stood aghast. "That is the most illogical, bizarre..."

Ratchet interrupted, beaming, "...Brilliant thing I've ever heard!"

"Exactly. Lombax nature. It makes perfect sense, if you're a lombax. Anyway, Reg's been serving as Prime Minister four terms now, and he's got a strong following. As for Minister Gaiden..." Tesseract smiled faded slightly. "Well... he's more the administrative type. He's unusually young to be on the council, but he's an absolutely brilliant legal advisor and accountant." Ratchet made a sour face. "Exactly," Tesseract concluded.

* * *


	12. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Stalemate**

There was a slight change in lighting as the force fields outside the building flickered out. The teleporter sprang to life, and Petrov appeared, loaded down with packages. Petrov touched a crystal on his glove, and rapidly said "I'm in. Thanks, Reg." The force field perimeter immediately returned.

"Hey, Doc! I'm home!" he shouted.

The doctor, Ratchet and Clank met him in the workroom. He had already deposited the packages onto the cluttered work table and closed the curtain over the BetaTex, hiding it from view. Ratchet and Clank looked at the packages curiously. There were more carry out food packages, what looked like a long tube of some kind, an oblong box with the picture of some type of glove on it and an ammunition crate. But most importantly, the dimensionator. Or, more precisely, what was left of it.

The dimensionator looked as though it had seen better days. When Ratchet had hidden it in the tree, both he and Clank thought it was malfunctioning. But it looked as though even more had happened to it since then. Some kind of animal had apparently made a nest inside of it, and many wires from the neural interface grid on the inner surface of the 'hat' portion were pulled out or broken. There were a few fresh dents along the sides, and one of the protruding rift projectors was bent at a harsh angle. Ratchet hoped the damage was superficial. When they had left it, he knew he could put the washer back in and open a rift. Now, though...

"What did you do to that thing?" Doc's voice was incredulous. "That thing looks like it's been through two wars!"

Clank responded, "Technically, it has. Although none of the visible damage was there when we last saw the dimensionator. Someone else must have found the device."

Petrov looked around the room. "Uh, that would be me." Ratchet looked at him and would have sworn that Petrov was blushing under his fur. "I didn't have a heli-pack, and I was in a hurry. Someone was followin' me. I lost 'em, but I had to get it down in a hurry. I couldn't get up the thorntree, so I used a bunch o' buzz blades to dislodge it. Those would be the small dents. The big dent and the projector happened when it hit the ground..."

Ratchet closed his eyes and shook his head. Doc's voice rang out, "What were you thinking? If you were at all, that is?"

"I was in a hurry, I was being followed and I didn't have time. I needed it down, fast." He looked at Ratchet. "Plus, it was broken anyway; the neural interface was already shredded... I'm glad I did, too. A family of screes had built a nest in there." Seeing Ratchet's puzzled look, he explained, "A scree is a small herbivore about six centicubits in length. Pretty harmless, but really sharp teeth. They don't attack unless you disturb a nest, but they like to munch on raritanium wiring." Ratchet looked closely at the broken mesh of the neural interface grid and saw that the breaks were actually gnawed through.

Doc looked it over quickly. "Well, a dimensionator, even the original prototype, is really three main components: the rift inducer, the amplification subsystem and the neural control system. There's more, but they're not as critical. Looking at this, the rift inducer is damaged and out of alignment, the amplification matrix is missing and the neural interface is ripped apart. With a bit of cleanup it can go on display in the Azimuth Museum, but it won't be able to open another portal without a complete rebuild."

Ratchet's ears sunk. He and Clank stared at each other. "So we're stuck, then," Ratchet whispered. He looked into Clank's eyes. "Clank, I'm really sorry..."

Petrov broke in. "Not so fast. Plan B. Doc, would this work as a rift inducer?" He tossed the glove box to the scientist. Tesseract looked at it, turned the box over and read the specifications written in very small print on the back. "It's close. It might work, but it would need the amplifier and control system." Petrov looked at Clank, "Do you still have the washer from the prototype?" Clank retrieved the three and three quarters centicubit hexagonal washer from his grill manifestor.

Doc's eyes widened. "Perfect!" Ratchet and Clank were confused. "I thought that was just a washer," Ratchet said. Doc smiled and shook his head, "It's a special alloy. As the dimensionator fires up, it generates a controlled feedback loop to boost and direct the power. But, yeah, it also protected the reflux coil in the prototype from vibration damage."

Petrov looked at the doctor. "If you had a neural interface, could you get it to work?" Tesseract frowned. "The interface would have to be modified. The door glove is designed to work based on gestures, and we'd have to override the touch crystal destination control. They'd have to be sync'ed perfectly. You'd need a..." he looked up at Petrov, a smile coming to his face, "...Reg..."

"Exactly!" Petrov concluded.

"Uh, excuse me." Ratchet was a bit concerned by these latest discussions, especially since it seemed to be about slapping a dimensionator together out of spare parts... "Let's back up a second. What's a 'door glove'?"

Petrov showed him the box, but saw Ratchet's ears fall and understood. "Oh, yeah. Sorry. A door glove's a defensive weapon; think of it as a cross between a Gadgetron rift inducer, a teleporter and mini mag-net. It shoots out four small spheres that generate an energy web. These form the frame of a doorway. Reflux coils in the spheres create a stable rift inside that frame. The control crystal lets you to set a destination, usually in a range of about twenty cubits depending on the glove's upgrade level. Once the rift forms, you just step through or blast whatever's on the other side." Ratchet nodded and thought of the possibilities. "Hmmm... That sounds handy!"

Tesseract picked up the explanation from that point. "The washer acts as an amplification circuit. It won't extend the physical range of the glove, but with the proper configuration it should allow the rift to bridge dimensions, much as it had done in the prototype. I can give you more detail, but..."

"That's okay, doc," Ratchet answered. "I get the picture. But what's this have to do with Reg?"

Petrov smiled. "Haven't you wondered why he's so fast, and can control pretty much anything without trying?" Ratchet thought back: the walloper, the force fields, the teleporters... "...Yeah..." Ratchet answered. Petrov continued, "It's sheer genius. He and Doc put together an advanced neural matrix. The research is sorta classified, mostly in the Ministry, but that's never stopped him before. His cap is a direct neural interface; the crystals on it transmit on various frequencies to whatever device he wants. As long as the target has a control crystal on it, he just thinks about it and it happens. He's gotten pretty quick with it, too..." Petrov rubbed his sore stomach.

Clank understood. "So Reg can use his neural interface to connect to the door glove and amplifier. The combination would create a working dimensionator, and he could send us through to Fastoon."

Doc looked at Clank. "Exactly. Granted, it would only work for small scale use - the glove isn't designed to open rifts anywhere except within the doorframe. And it would be open only for a short time. But it should work - probably even better than the prototype, since the neural matrix is stable and wouldn't have the interface problems." Doc looked over at Petrov, and said in a jovial voice, "I'm impressed! I take back all those rotten things I was thinking about you."

"Gee, Thanks, Doc," Petrov said with a grin. Then growing serious, he continued, "How long would it take you to rig this up?" Tesseract replied, "Maybe an hour to get the amplifier in place. The neural matrix is the easy part - it should already be compatible."

"Good. Get started on it. I'm not sure how Reg is doing with the council; when I asked him to let me in, he didn't sound happy. I wanna have a backup in case we need to move in a hurry."

"Can we be of any assistance?" Clank asked.

"Not really. Doc knows what he's doin'. Best to leave'm to it."

He handed the long tube to the lombax. "Ratchet, your flight suit and your armor looked like they'd been through a war zone, so I had 'em permacleaned. But don't put 'em on yet - the camouflage will help you blend in with the deputies in case things go badly. That GrummelNet stuff stands out. Even the flight suit would be noticed. Just put 'em in your manifestor for now." Ratchet took the tube and released the catch along the seam. The package popped open, and his flight suit, armor, helmet and boots were carefully arranged in the open chamber. He was amazed that his boots fit inside, based on the size of the original tube. Looking at the armor, he was shocked at how good it looked. Then he realized just how many burn marks, scrapes, smudges and stains of all sorts they must have had on them. It was a huge difference; he just hadn't noticed before...

"Next up, I owed you some RYNO ammo. I'm not sure it's compatible, but it should be pretty close. I tweaked the logic in the missiles - they'll seek out the strongest enemy in range now, based on weapon type and nanotech concentrations. It's the same software we use in the femto-fighters. The patch is also in the crystal on top of the crate. Hook that up to your RYNO magazine and you'll upgrade the Gadgetron ammo automatically as you load it."

"Cool! Thanks! I remember a few times where the rockets homed in on anklebiters while the bosses just kept laughing and shooting at me from a safe distance..."

"Trust me, I've been there!" Petrov agreed.

Ratchet placed his armor and the ammo crate into his manifestor, and then looked over at the food packages. He had eaten earlier, but it was the first time in weeks and that had been a while ago...

Petrov watched Ratchet's eyes drawn to the take out canisters, and smiled. "Yeah, me too. Hey, doc, want anything to eat?" Tesseract was busy taking apart the pellet confinement and ejection system on the glove. He didn't even look up, but responded, "Hmmm... What'd'y'get?" Petrov looked through the containers... "Not too much, we had a decent breakfast for a change. Some sewer shark, burgers, polygons, some pteradon..." The doctor interrupted him. "Save me some pteradon." "Done," Petrov replied.

They left the pteradon container sealed, but opened the now familiar burgers and sewer shark. There was also a container of "vegetable matter" and some kind of hot and spicy polygonal vegetables fried crisp and seasoned with a blend of herbs, salt and capsaicin. Ratchet started with the sewer shark - he was just really amazed with the flavor, and said so.

"When this is all over," Petrov began, speaking around a mouthful of burger, "I'll teach you how to fish for sewer shark yourself. Jacek's is good, but you haven't lived until you've tried it really fresh, as in 'still moving'..."

Ratchet grinned, taking another bite. He couldn't imagine the sashimi being much better than it was. He joked, "I think I've already got the basics: equip a judicator, jump in the water, get swallowed and pull the trigger..." Petrov stopped eating his burger and looked at Ratchet closely. "How'd'y know??"

* * *

About twenty minutes later, they heard the sound of a rocket sled approaching. "That's probably Reg," Petrov said. Ratchet, Clank and Petrov went to the exterior door. It was definitely Reg's sled. Ratchet listened for a minute... "There's something wrong with it. The thrust alignment's off..." Petrov glanced at him. "You can tell that just by the sound?" Ratchet grinned. "I have, well, had a similar sled on Kerwan..."

Reg landed his sled just outside of the force field. With a brief flicker, the force field changed location, so that the sled was moved inside its protective shell. They walked up to meet Reg. He had his tail snapped behind him and was wearing a hard helmet made of the same kind of animal skin as his vest. There was a raised ridge of scales down the center, and two parallel rows of crystals and metal studs running front to back. Ratchet now realized what the crystals were for. But overall, the helmet looked familiar...

Clank spoke, "Sir, were you in the Desert Riders also?"

Reg turned from the sled, slightly surprised at the question. "Actually, yeah." A distant smile broke out on his face at the memory. "That was a long time ago..." He put his helmet in a storage bin on the sled and put his normal cap on.

Ratchet gestured toward the sled. "Mind if I take a look? Your thruster alignment's a hair out of phase." Reg said, "Be my guest. I've been losing power anytime I really push her, but never traced it. Thanks!" Ratchet took out his omniwrench and began to tinker with the left thruster of the sled.

"Did'y' ever do the circuits on Joba?" Reg asked. "I finished the expert circuit in 2 minutes 24 seconds. I set a record." Ratchet stood, the omniwrench in his right hand. "2:17..." He had a smug grin on his face, buffed his gloved left hand against his shirt briefly, then leaned against the sled.

There was a sudden movement from Reg and a flash of very bright light. Ratchet blinked, but when his eyes readjusted, there was nothing amiss. He looked around slightly confused. Reg said in a somewhat distracted voice, "2:17! Impressive!!" Ratchet shrugged, grinned again and went back to tinkering.

Petrov walked over to Reg and beckoned him over to the doorway. "What was that all about?" Petrov asked. Clank moved over to join them. Ratchet had moved over to the right thruster and had begun working on it with his wrench, paying them absolutely no attention. Reg had a strange look in his eyes. "Didn't you see it?" Petrov and Clank shook their heads. Reg produced a display pad from his manifestor with a still of Ratchet captured on it. He showed it to Petrov and Clank, and both of them nodded. In the image, Ratchet in the camouflage uniform looked identical to the only known image of the Keeper: they were same height (rather short for a lombax), the same wiry build, same ears, tail, stance, the way they carried their tools... They even wore the same smug grin and had the same eyes - except that Ratchet's were a slightly lighter shade of green...

Clank and Petrov looked at Reg and asked the same question simultaneously, "Can I get a download of that?" Reg looked over to the working lombax. He had finished with the right thruster and was moving to the seat and control panel. Reg quickly dubbed copies of the image and downloaded them to Petrov's and Clank's manifestors.

Ratchet called over to the group, "Don't worry, it won't blow up. Reg, may I?" Reg nodded and Ratchet climbed into the seat and started the sled. He powered up the thrusters slowly, building to full power, all the while keeping the braking dampers on. The thrusters roared with power and the sled shuddered from the opposing thrust and braking forces. Ratchet looked up with a huge smile on his face. Reg grinned back in return. Ratchet eased off the power and shut down the sled. Reg called out, "You _are_ good!"

* * *

Petrov looked to Reg. "So, what wisdom did the council come up with?" Reg turned to him with a disgusted look. "No surprises. They're debating. Let's go in. I'm sure that Doc'll want to hear this too."

The walked over to the workroom where Doc was reassembling the glove. The hexagonal washer was permanently fixed between the pellet storage chamber and the ejection system. It looked a little out of place, but it seemed secure. Reg walked over to the work table and looked at the glove critically. Then his eyes widened in realization. "Great idea Doc! Plan B!" Tesseract looked up, "Actually, it was Petrov's idea." Reg looked over at Petrov. Petrov tried to duplicate Ratchet's smug grin and leaned against the work counter but accidentally put his hand into the middle of some "vegetable matter" from the burgers. Reg looked at the ruins of lunch. "Did'y' at least save me somethin'...?"

Reg walked over and examined the mostly empty containers. "Burgers, pteradon..." "That's mine!" Doc exclaimed. Reg sulked slightly, "...fine... Sewer shark?! What're you tryin' to do, poison him?" Petrov replied defensively, "I had some too. When it's done right, it's not lethal." Reg looked at Ratchet closely, looking for any signs of medical problems. "I suppose he left out the bit where sewer shark is extremely poisonous. Only a few parts of the fish are edible. The first and _last_ time I tried it with Petrov, I got a bad piece." Petrov shot back, "You had an allergic reaction. Some people can't handle seafood." Reg retorted, "Since when do they do a medical teleport and full system detox for an allergic reaction!"

Clank broke in to try to refocus the group, "Were you able to convince the council of our intentions? Did they reach any decisions?"

Reg looked down at Clank. "Well, I told them everything I'd seen. They seemed interested, but they're more concerned with Petrov... Probably Gaiden's doing. Sorry, dude, you're going to be drafted to council soon."

Ratchet looked up at Petrov in horror. "I'm sorry we blew your cover. From what Doc told us, it sounds really dull."

Petrov shrugged it off. "It was just a matter of time until I lost my temper anyway. Gaiden kept rubbing my fur the wrong way. At least this way we got somethin' out of it."

"Well, the council's debating both Petrov's status and what to do about Polaris. I'm listening in, so I'll let you know when they reach a decision." Reg looked over at the glove. "That's a nice touch. But what about the neural matrix? I thought the prototype's was unstable."

Doc shook his head. "It's worse than that. Take a look." He gestured across the worktable. Reg went over, took one long look into the helmet and whistled. "So, what're you doing for a neural interface?" Doc did not reply, but rubbed the top of his head with his glove. "Oh. Yeah. That'll work. I can open the rift for Ratchet and Clank, no sweat..." Reg suddenly froze in place.

"What's wrong?" Petrov asked. "Sssh..." Reg hissed.

A few seconds passed.

"Petrov! Get a field around this building, NOW!" Reg shouted as he ran to the exterior door.

Petrov made a gesture, and a second force field appeared, just inside the perimeter of the outer field. They followed quickly after Reg and stood in the doorway.

"What's..." Ratchet started to say, but then saw for himself. There was a change of lighting around the building. Reg's force field blinked out. A large number of deputies had teleported around the perimeter of the building. In addition, there were energy discharges, like bursts of static, in Petrov's field. It was as though someone were trying to teleport through it.

"Woah! They're serious!" Petrov said.

They waited. The energy discharges stopped as the teleports failed. The deputies maintained a ready stance. In the distance, they could see a rather smug looking Minister Gaiden waiting at the exterior entrance. One of the deputies ran up to him and gave him a message. He turned and seemed to shout at the deputy (they could not hear him from this distance). Spiff then faced the door, made a rude gesture in the general direction of the building, pulled up a chair and sat down to wait.

"Let's go back inside..." Reg said softly. They filed back into the building, and Reg closed the door.

* * *

They gathered in the workroom. Reg sat down on the high counter top. The others gathered around.

"Okay. The council reached a decision and took a few actions. I'm actually a little impressed - they actually moved pretty quick and planned it out for a change. Not that its good for us.

"Petrov, they stripped your command and rank as Regional Minister, so you no longer have access to that command code. No surprises there. This automatically makes you a member of the council and you'll be forced to serve. But they made it effective as of tomorrow so that you wouldn't have a vote in any of the other actions they took.

"They took my testimony about Ratchet's BetaTex and Clank's statement into consideration. They rescinded the permanent ban of travel to Polaris. Instead, they've placed a two year moratorium: during that time, no one can travel there for any reason. Anyone opening a rift will be prosecuted and confined. After the two years, scouts will be allowed to explore under strict orders to evaluate the situation and report back. If everything proves to be okay, the moratorium will be lifted and any lombax may visit as they see fit. But the council will not formally condone any attempt to return to Polaris or Fastoon. Many of the council members are either too ashamed of what happened or, like Spiff, were born here or were too young to remember and see no need to go back.

Ratchet had a bad feeling about the moratorium. He started to bristle and a low growl rose in his throat. Clank tried to be diplomatic, "This is not expected, but I am pleased to hear that the lombaxes will be able to return, eventually."

Reg shook his head, his ears drooped. "That's not all, I am afraid."

"It gets better?" Ratchet asked in a restrained voice.

"The council voted, and unanimously decided to override my force field around this building. That's why I had Petrov throw one up. The council can override me, but there's nothing in their authority that can override Petrov. A level seven protocol can only be overridden by a higher one, and only the Prime Minister holds level eight. Since I'm technically elected, the council can't remove me from office. They can't get in.

"But they've brought in deputies from other regions to surround the building, and have teleporters active and scanning. They already tried it once, based on the light show. If that field goes down, we'll be removed from this building immediately. We can't get out. It's a stalemate."

Every ear drooped. Clank thought for a second, and said, "Surely they must see reason. If they remove us, we will be able to provide testimony to them directly. Perhaps if they saw the BetaTex recording first hand..." Reg held up his hand, shook his head and looked sadly at Clank.

"Lastly, the council feels that you and Ratchet know too much about the dimensionator and New Fastoon. While they don't think that you're a direct threat, they will not permit you to return to Polaris or to roam freely about the Leonid galaxy. To that end, they intend to secure you and put you under 'special confinement'. You'd be provided a small apartment in the city, and you'd have access to anything you request. But the apartment would be sealed and you would not be permitted to leave for the duration of the moratorium. After that time, the council will reexamine your case and decide if you'll be permitted access to New Fastoon. Either way, it's unlikely that they'll ever allow you to return to Polaris or your own dimension."

* * *


	13. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Plan B**

There was a stunned silence. The Prime Minister's voice trailed off. The doctor and Petrov stared at Reg in horror. From what Reg just described, 'special confinement' was a terrible fate; especially to a lombax!

Ratchet's eyes were burning with anger and his small frame shook with rage. After all he and Clank had been through... He growled, "Wrong answer!" and reached for his manifestor.

Immediately the lighting dimmed and he found himself staring at the shimmering orange glow of a port-a-prison. He heard Reg's voice, coming from all around him because of the sensory distortion field. "Don't try it! Just calm down. We are NOT going to let that happen. Take a deep breath and settle down." It took him a few seconds, but he realized that Reg was right and that this was not something he could blast his way out of; tempting though it might be. Ratchet knew they could see him through the field. He slowly and deliberately took a few deep breaths to steady himself (he was still shaking), dropped his arms to his sides, closed his eyes and nodded deeply. "That's better." Through his closed eyelids, he saw the room brighten. Opening them, he saw the field was gone and others were gathered around him.

Ratchet could see the concern on their faces and the droop in their ears. Whatever he thought of the governing council of New Fastoon, at least he knew that lombaxes themselves had not changed, and that he could rely on them. He forced a smile. "Thanks... Sorry, Reg."

Reg looked at him sadly. "Believe me, I understand." He looked around the room. "Petrov, time to try Plan B. I'm not sure how long Spiff'll be willing to sit there without trying to break in again. He's already tried it once, and he's not noted for patience. Doc, is the glove ready?" Tesseract nodded. Reg was about to put the glove into his manifestor, and then stopped. He dashed for the exterior door, calling "Stay there. I'll be right back..." They looked after him as he ran to his sled.

Reg strolled slowly back, with his sled helmet in his hand. "Damn. I underestimated Spiff. I almost missed it."

Petrov looked up, "What?"

"He set a counter-trap. The council's moratorium, making it a confineable crime to open a portal to Polaris... He's _hoping_ we open a portal. By putting either one of us in confinement, he would effectively remove us from office."

Doc whistled and whispered to Ratchet and Clank, "Like I said, a brilliant legal mind. Pity he has all the compassion of a cragpole..." He looked over to Reg and Petrov. "We can't let this happen; they deserve far better. Let me do it; I've got nothing to lose."

Petrov wandered to the exterior door, keeping a careful watch on Gaiden. He stared back at Ratchet for a moment, then looked at Tesseract and shook his head. "Doc, the threat of confinement is meaningless to someone that's gonna be confined anyway..." Reg looked at Petrov, nodded and then turned to Ratchet. "Precisely..." He took off his cap and put on his Desert Rider helmet. He tightened the straps and his face went blank for a second. A combustor appeared in his hand and then vanished. He looked at the glove on the workbench. The destination crystal changed without anyone touching it. Reg smiled. "Just testing... It's been a while since I used this one."

He handed his own cap to Ratchet. "Be very careful with this. It's extremely sensitive. I know you'll want to play with it, but don't - not until you're somewhere safe. Keep your mind focused on the one thing you want until you get the hang of it. Otherwise really strange things can happen, especially if you're around a lotta different crystals."

Ratchet was astounded. It was a spectacular gift. He stammered out a "Thank you."

Reg put his hand on the smaller lombax's shoulder. "Don't mention it."

* * *

Petrov walked quickly into the room. "Spiff just left. I've got a feeling that something's coming. Are we almost ready here?" He looked at Reg and Doc; they both nodded.

Clank looked to Reg, "What will happen to you? Will the council not try to retaliate?"

"They can try," Reg began. "Since Ratchet will open the portal, they've got nothing to pin on me. If anything, this'll probably give a lot of lombaxes a good laugh at the council's expense. Petrov'll be forced to sit on the council for a while. But with him there, it's very unlikely they'll ever get another unanimous vote." Petrov laughed with a slightly menacing growl, "Yeah, for all Spiff's calculatin', he just made a really big mistake. Because of my seniority, I'll outrank him on the council. Rest assured he'll be paying for this for a really long time!"

"Doc, what about you?" Ratchet asked.

"Eh, what can they do to me? I'm just a retired scientist. Anyway, this is the most fun I've had in years! With Reg as PM and Petrov blocking the council, they won't be able to get anything done! Plus, I actually get a chance to restore the original prototype. That'll get a place of honor in the Azimuth Museum."

Reg knelt down in front of Clank and Ratchet, shaking their hands in turn. "You'd better get moving," Reg said. "Goodbye, Clank. I'm sorry things worked out like this. We'll sort things out at this end." Clank simply said, "Thank you, Reg. Good luck." Reg turned and met Ratchet's eyes. "Ratchet, remember: you'll _always_ have a home here on New Fastoon. One without force fields, if I have my way. There's a really good track a few hours from here. I hope one of these days we can ride together." Ratchet's eyes were moist and his voice heavy with emotion, "It would be an honor, Reg." The Prime Minister just smiled, a sparkle of mischief in his brown eyes. "No it won't. But it'll be a helluva lot of fun!" He stood, stepped back and walked through the exterior door.

Petrov strode over and put his hand heavily on Ratchet's shoulder. "'Bye, Tiny. When things settle down, we'll get word to you that you can come back. Watch your back - I might be there..." Ratchet grinned, "We still need to go fishing..." Petrov smiled, stopped for a second, and admitted, "By the way, you don't want to eat any wild sewer shark you catch on your own. Not until I've had a chance to show you what's safe." Petrov turned to Clank and sank rather slowly to his knee. "Clank, I know its a big job, but take care o' Tiny for me." "Do not worry. I will do my best. Although I must admit that it is sometimes very difficult." "I hear you." Petrov stood and turned to Tesseract. "We'll give you five minutes. After that, I'll drop my field. I bet you a hundred bolts that as soon as the field goes down, we'll all be teleported directly to the council's chambers." Tesseract smiled and said, "No bet. If I run into delays, I'll let you know."

He turned toward the door, stopped, turned back to Clank and produced a box from his manifestor. "Clank, when you get home... you know what to do with this, right?" He handed Clank the BetaTex crystal, still in its padded case. Clank nodded and put it in his manifestor.

Petrov nodded and turned toward the door. But this reminded Ratchet of something. "Wait a second..." he called out and started to dig in his manifestor. Petrov, Reg and Doc looked at him curiously. He pulled out three chunks of trillium alloy, carved to look like gear teeth. "I picked these up on Fastoon. They were broken off from the plaza monument. Both the drophyds and cragmites tried, but they couldn't take the monument down. It's still standing; they only managed to break off a few pieces. Please, take them." He handed them to Petrov.

Petrov's eyes were moist as he accepted them. "Thanks, Tiny..." He handed one of the fragments to Doc Tesseract and moved to follow Reg, who was waiting just outside door. Petrov put a hand on Reg's shoulder and gave him one of the fragments. Reg looked up at them, smiled and waved, slipping the alloy gear tooth into his left vest pocket. Ratchet and Clank waved back, then watched as the two of them turned and slowly ambled out in the direction of the rocket sled. They could hear their conversation fade as they moved away from the entrance.

Petrov (P): I told them five minutes.

Reg sighed and pulled out an ancient timepiece from his other vest pocket by the Raritanium chain.

Reg (R): Fine.  
P: Where're you going?  
R: The sled.  
P: Why?  
R: They'll have a harder time locking on to a moving object. I wanna go to the council chamber under my own power.  
P: It is a little more dignified that way.  
R: Dignity my tail! I wanna buzz Spiff's office at full throttle.  
P: (laughing)  
R: Plus I don't trust 'em with their remote teleports. It gives me the shivers.  
P: Can you give me a ride as long as you're at it? I wanna see Spiff's face.  
R: Sure. Hop in...

The sled seemed to fold in on itself and some transformation seemed to occur. A sidecar expanded from the bulk of the sled.

P: Nice touch. When'd'ya install that?  
R: 'bout a month ago. First time I've had a chance to try it, though.

They reached the sled. Reg hopped into the pilot's seat. Petrov climbed into the sidecar with a little difficulty.

P: It's a little tight.  
R: You've been eating out at Jacek's too much. Maybe you need to go on that fitness course you keep sending those deputies to.

Petrov said something rather rude in reply that was lost in Reg's laughter.

The sled powered up, and there was a hum building to a full roar as both the thrusters and braking dampers fired simultaneously. They could barely hear Reg over the sound of the sled, "Damn, he's good! I'd no idea how much power I was losing..."

Ratchet grinned at Clank, and the two of them closed the door and turned away.

* * *

Ratchet and Clank returned to the workroom. Tesseract was waiting for them. "We only have a few more minutes. Put the glove in your manifestor and select it. Have it ready." Ratchet did so. "Now put on the matrix. Keep your mind focused on Fastoon; don't let your thoughts wander."

Ratchet removed his leather cap and put it into his manifestor. Clank looked at his friend carefully and noted that Ratchet was starting to show... one... no, two silver hairs himself, right on the top of his head where the stripes met. He smiled. Ratchet had nowhere near as many as Reg and Petrov, but they were still there. Maybe his friend was finally starting to grow up. But then, based on 'Lombax nature' and the ones he had met so far, Clank doubted it would matter. Shaking his head, he hopped up on the connecting bolt and sealed it. He enabled his thruster upgrade as well, just in case.

Ratchet put on Reg's helmet. It definitely felt strange; it did not fit him properly and there were raritanium wires sewn on the inside that he could feel through his fur. He tightened the straps to make sure the scanners made reasonably close contact, looked down at the door glove and tried to concentrate on Fastoon. Ratchet drew a picture in his mind: the heat; the wind blown dust over the dry soil; the zip line and the lamp posts; the crash site of Aphelion; the central monument, damaged but still standing; the courtyard where he fought with Zephyr and Cronk; and finally the Court of Azimuth itself - the final stronghold of the lombaxes in Polaris.

The crystal on his glove turned green. He heard Tesseract's voice saying, "Goodbye. Go!" With a gesture, he fired the glove.

Four small spheres shot out from the storage chamber. The hovered approximately a cubit in front of him, forming a rectangle about two cubits high by one cubit wide. He looked at the glove and saw the hexagonal bolt glowing faintly with power. The plane inside the rectangle distorted, filling with rippling energy. Beyond it, he could see the Court of Azimuth, just as he had pictured it in his mind. In a quiet voice, Ratchet said to Clank, "Let's go home," and stepped through.

* * *


	14. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Polaris**

Ratchet and Clank stepped through the portal, and found themselves in the center of the Court of Azimuth. The room was completely dark and the shadows hung heavily throughout the high ceilinged chamber illuminated only by the light of the portal itself. The floor inlays of stone and metal rang under Ratchet's boots. He was fully conscious and had no pain or disorientation; the wonders of modern technology... He turned to face the rift.

He could see Doc Tesseract just beyond the door. It was strange to see the brightly lit workroom from the darkness of the court. Doc held up what looked like a portable holovid recorder, as though he was trying to capture his escape for history. Ratchet smiled and waved with his gloved hand, the washer still glowing.

There was a sudden distortion in the doorway as the portal began to ripple. The energy borders that made up the frame began to crumble and the portal winked out of existence. Ratchet and Clank were plunged into a sudden darkness. The dimensionator's portal lasted for less than a minute - a fact he would have to remember in case he decided to try this again.

He heard something moving in the darkness. Clank's optical scanners, far faster at adjusting to the sudden change in brightness, picked up motion. "Uh, Ratchet..."

Ratchet spun in the darkness and struck at the shadows with his omniwrench. He could just make out the silhouette of a nanophyte. Damn. Where there was one...

He threw a mag-net, and in the light of the electrical discharge he saw over a dozen nanophytes, and they already had bombs primed and ready. He could see them shining faintly green. Looking to the floor, he saw one rolling to him, the telltale glow of its timer shifting to yellow. He jumped backwards so he would be out of its blast radius, and opened up with his combustor. The shots rang out, echoing in the Court of Azimuth, the energy pellets bouncing at odd angles from the ornate decorations. It did not take long until he had eliminated all of the nanophytes.

His eyes adjusted to the dim light in the chamber. After a quick inspection to make certain that no other threats lurked in the room, he went over to the door and activated the control. It swung slowly open and the evening sun poured in from the south. The fiery hues reflected from the stone floor and cast a rose colored glow where the reddish light bounced off the raritanium surfaces.

Clank disengaged from the backpack socket, dropped to the ground and stood to Ratchet's right. As they looked toward the sinking sun, Clank looked at Ratchet. He did not have any weapons in his hands.

"Ratchet, how did you draw your weapon? Did you return it in your manifestor already?"

Ratchet looked a little surprised. He glanced at his manifestor. "I'm not sure, Clank. I just swung at the nanophyte and there it was. Same with the combustor and mag-net." He thought of his wrench and it materialized in his hand from the manifestor. As a test, he released it and it returned to his inventory without any interaction from him. He aimed and fired one combustor round at a distant lamp post, and saw the ricochet. Looking at his empty hand, he saw the crystal on his glove, its brightness pulsing in a steady rhythm that matched his heart rate. A wide smile slowly spread across his face, and his eyes widened. "Oh, this is sooooo cool!" He looked up at the star field spreading above him to the north, chasing the setting sun. Ratchet whispered, "Thanks Reg."

Clank's antenna scanner pulsed. "I have contacted Aphelion. She is on her way, and estimates that she will be here in approximately six hours. She has also relayed our ETA to Talwyn. Miss Apogee is expecting us." Ratchet smiled and nodded. "Great! This way she knows we're back. Thanks." He looked around for a good spot. "We might as well get comfortable." He began to gather a few combustible twigs from the thorntrees surrounding them to build a small campfire. Clank watched him work for a few minutes, and then announced, "I have one task that I need to perform. I will rejoin you in a moment." He walked back into the Court, while Ratchet turned to watch him curiously.

In the central chamber, the light from the setting sun provided sufficient illumination to make out the details of the chamber. Clank went to the very center, where the pattern inlay on the floor was lifted in a low dais. This was the very spot where Percival Tachyon attacked them from during the quest for the dimensionator. This was their point of departure to New Fastoon. While it was likely a mere coincidence, it was also their point of return. It appealed to Clank's sense of symmetry that this should be the location for his task.

He drew the case that Petrov had given him from his manifestor. Removing the BetaTex crystal, he discarded the outer protective shell in the general direction of a pile of debris from a collapsed column. He held the crystal up to his optical sensors and his antenna pulsed. He could detect the ever so faint modification in the crystal that had been made by the multihued lasers of the BetaTex; Ratchet's deepest thoughts, fears and emotions - ripped from him, stripped bare and exposed for all to see. Placing the crystal in the exact center of the dais, he lifted his metallic foot and stomped on the crystal with all of the force he could.

The crystal shattered with the sound of a small explosion. Small shards scattered in every direction. Clank rotated his foot on the remainder, grinding the fragments underneath into a fine molecular powder.

Ratchet came running in, a combustor in his hand. "Clank!" When he saw Clank standing there with no immediate threat, the combustor vanished. "Are you okay?" he asked. "I heard a shot. Is everything all right?"

Clank grinned up at his friend. "Yes, Ratchet. Everything is fine."

* * *

It was full night, and the sun had long vanished over the southern horizon; the stars shone overhead. Ratchet and Clank waited for Aphelion just outside the Court of Azimuth. Ratchet had changed out of his Lombax Defense Ministry camouflage and into his flight suit, having folded the New Fastoon gear carefully and stowing it into his manifestor with his Veldin work jeans. He sat with his back against a rocky outcropping, tending a tiny campfire, feeding it small fragments of thorntree branches.

Clank stared deeply into the flames, his sensors picking up the complex reactions occurring in a mesmerizing dance of matter and energy. This always amazed him no matter how often he watched it play out. Chaos and structure. He turned briefly to Ratchet and chuckled to himself. 'Lombax nature...' "Ratchet, why did you build a campfire? Aphelion will be here in approximately four hours. It is not cold, and we are well protected from intruders." His eyes returned to the complex pattern of the flames, captivated.

Ratchet leaned back against the stone, his head tilted towards the Fastoon night sky. "I dunno, Clank," he lied casually. "Habit, I suppose. Veldin was always a little chilly at night, and the warmth was welcome. Still, it's nice to just sit 'n' watch it sometimes..." Clank smiled. He knew the real answer. "Yes, it is."

R: "Do you think they're alright, Clank? Petrov, Reg, Doc Tesseract?  
C: "I am certain they are fine, Ratchet. I have no reason to doubt their assessment of the situation."  
R: "Yeah. I know."

R: "Do you think we did the right thing?"  
Clank looked closely at Ratchet, whose eyes were still fixed on the stars above. "Ratchet, I am surprised you would even ask that. Our mission was to inform the lombaxes that it was safe to return to Polaris; a gesture based on compassion. We succeeded. The Lombax Central Council will confirm this in their own time and manner. But someday your people will return."  
R: "Yeah. That's somethin', I suppose."

C: "Ratchet, do you have any plans on where to go next?"  
R: "Back to Talwyn's station for now. We promised to help look for her father. I also wanna drop by Metropolis and see Al. I wanna show him the neural interface; he might be able to copy it to upgrade his implants. And..." Ratchet chuckled, "well, to be honest, I wanna see if he can copy it in my own cap too. Reg's is a little big on me."  
Clank chuckled.

R: "What about you, Clank? Anywhere you'd like to see? Another dimension, maybe? After all, we've got all of existence to explore."  
Clank thought for a second. "At the present, it might be best if you conserved the ammunition of the door glove for an emergency."  
R: Yeah, that's probably a good idea. We won't be able to get replacement ammo anywhere local...

Clank paused for a moment and then offered, "There is one destination I had considered. I remember the smuggler saying something about meeting a lombax pilot in the Voron nebula. Perhaps we might be able to ascertain more information about that encounter." Ratchet, his eyes widening at the stirred memory, looked over at Clank, who was staring into the flames. "Yeah! That's right! That's a great idea, Clank. I forgot about that! Thanks!"

They still had a little time until Aphelion arrived. Ratchet sat up, picked up a long stick and casually poked the fire with it, causing sparks to jump into the night air. Clank's eyes widened and his jaw opened slightly. Ratchet smiled and leaned back again, the back of his head resting against the top of the rock, his eyes fixed to the stars.

end.

* * *


	15. Epilogue

**Epilogue: Chrysalis**

The penthouse suite was dark and silent. It was here that, on the uppermost floor of the relatively modern Solana housing complex in New Fastoon, one of the nine council members dwelled. There was extremely tight security and force fields at every door. These were not designed to keep threats out, as very few threats would even make the attempt against this occupant. Instead they were solely focused on keeping track of the recalcitrant resident. Council members served by force, drafted from among the highest ranks of generals, adventurers and administrators. Ever since General Neutrino was finally brought in over fifty years earlier, extra precautions had been instituted by the Lombax Defense Ministry to make certain that no member of the ruling council could escape undetected again.

The security team certainly had their hands full with this one. The old lombax adventurer was still very fit for his advanced seventy-four years of age, and he had a reputation for outperforming even some of the youngest deputies in the fitness course. The seventy-four was really just an estimate, of course; no one really knew when he was born, so it was merely an agreed upon number. The agile lombax had tried, and succeeded on a few occasions, in eluding surveillance and his security detail. But with the death of his wife Talwyn the previous year, a lot of the fight had gone out of the councilor. Even so, the security detail was still on full alert; it would not be the first time that their charge had painstakingly faked prolonged disinterest only to suddenly turn up missing... They made sure that every recruit knew that they should neither underestimate nor trust the silver fur on this one!

Ratchet was currently on the terrace overlooking New Fastoon, tuning his latest acquisition: an antique hoverbike similar to the ones that he and Reg Solstice used to race. This bike required a lot of attention, but that just made it more interesting for the old lombax; taking it and fixing it up better than new was a hobby he enjoyed almost as much as racing it. It also got him out of the dull council chamber and into the open air. Adjusting the thrusters with his ever present omniwrench, he suddenly stopped and let out a low chuckle.

"Hey, Clank, check this out. They put a tracer in the bike again." Ratchet pulled out a tiny, self contained crystal component, no more than one centicubit in length.

Clank looked up from the operations manual he had been reading. The years had treated the robot very well, of course. He did not age the way organic life forms did. But he had grown in a lot of other ways, and had learned a thing or two over the years. Clank chuckled, "Really... You would think they would leave you alone for a little while at least. After all, your council term expires in three days. By law, they are required to give you a parole of at least one year before they can draft you again."

"Yeah," Ratchet agreed, walking over to a potted thorntree and pushing the tracer deep into the soil at its roots. "I think they're worried they won't be able to track me. I almost got away from 'em last time; they had to cheat and use the dimensionator to find me. Clank, I swear, I intend to give 'em a good run for their bolts before they draft me again. Petrov had the right idea; once they've got you by the tail, you can't get away."

"Now Ratchet," Clank chided, "This is really not that bad of an existence. The lombax people respect you and your abilities. You are very highly valued. That is why they keep coming to find you. You have been on the council for five terms now..."

A warning tone issued from the doorway. Ratchet looked up to the door and the field faded. Standing on the threshold was a lombax approximately thirty years old. He towered over the older councilor (Ratchet was very short for the species) and held a display panel in his gloved hand. Ratchet grinned, "Hi Al. What brings you here?"

Prime Minister Albert Neutrino was Petrov's grandson. Physically, he was nearly the same height as his grandfather, but lacked the athletic build and powerful presence. But he had inherited the most important features of his grandfather - his somewhat warped sense of humor and his gift for mayhem that made Al a natural for the role of Prime Minister. Al also had the same changeable blue eyes that Ratchet remembered in Petrov. Their color and depth seemed to vary based on the lombax's mood at the time. Right now, they were a clear sunny blue.

"Uncle Ratchet," he began. Ratchet had been officially adopted by Petrov very soon after his first trip to the Leonid galaxy. He remembered that day when Clank's warning of 'Uh, Ratchet...' almost caused the lombax to bash the general's brains out with his wrench. Petrov had tried to sneak up behind him, and, well, it had been a close call... Ever since then, he had always had a home among the Neutrinos, the Solstices and the Tesseract families, and had gotten to know them all pretty well. "I have a message for you from the council." Al waved his hand, and a series of force fields surrounded the terrace. Ratchet looked a little surprised. They were sensory distorting, but they also appeared rather secure. "Are they having you run errands now? That is just sooooo wrong. I will have to talk with them about that..." Ratchet took the display pad and began to read. His ears and tail drooped. "This can't be right..." He read it again. His ears and tail drooped even more. Ratchet looked up at Al, a strange expression on his face. "Why?"

Clank was extremely concerned and pulled the display panel from his friend's loose grip. It read:

"Congratulations! You have been selected as the recipient of the Lombax Defense Ministry's 'Lifetime Achievement Award'. This prestigious honor is bestowed in recognition of your great contributions to the lombax nation and to the Leonid, Polaris, Bogon and Solana galaxies. The presentation ceremony and recording session will be held this evening in the council chambers of New Fastoon. A formal dinner will follow. Please invite anyone you wish to witness this event. Attendance is, of course, mandatory under section eight three one paragraph 'd'."

"This is indeed a great honor," Clank began. Ratchet said nothing, but Al almost gushed. "Hell, yeah! Not only do they want to honor you, they also want to use the BetaTex to record you for future generations..." Al saw the look in Ratchet's face and his fallen ears. Having grown up with Uncle Reg telling stories about Ratchet's past based on what he remembered from the playback, Al thought he understood the problem. "Don't worry, Uncle. The recording process has changed a lot. They haven't used that kind of equipment for decades. Nowadays, you just sit in a chair, look at some lights and you're done." Ratchet forced a grin. "Yeah... That sounds lots better. Thanks, Al."

Al looked over to Clank. "Uncle Clank, the council is interested in you too. We all grew up on the stories of how you two worked as a team. They would like to record you as well, if you are willing that is..."

Clank's eyes brightened. "I would be honored."

"I'll see you tonight then!" Al started for the door. Ratchet looked up at him and asked "Wait. Before you go, when did this happen? I certainly didn't vote on this." Al smiled. "They had a special session. I guess they wanted to keep it a surprise; you weren't invited. It was a unanimous vote of eight to zero with one missing. It was also ratified by the Prime Minister..." Al wore a slightly smug grin and bowed slightly. "See you tonight!" The younger lombax walked out the open door.

Clank looked at Ratchet's face very carefully, and saw the conflicting emotions there. "Ratchet, what is wrong?" Ratchet sat down on the edge of the thorntree planter and glanced up briefly at the red spikes growing along the vines. He did not answer immediately, and when he did, it was in a very soft, sad voice with his eyes turned downward to the stonework floor of the terrace. "Clank, they only give you a 'lifetime achievement award' when they think you've fired your last combustor round." Clank's optical sensors widened in surprise. "Ratchet, that makes no sense. You have nearly two decades remaining in your expected life span. I find it difficult to believe that the council had any such intention. Are you certain that you are interpreting their actions correctly?" Ratchet just looked into Clank's sensors, and said, "I don't know..." His voice trailed off, and when he spoke again, there was a note of both sadness and disappointment there. "Maybe they won't even try to catch me this time..." Ratchet was silent for a while, and then said, "Well, we'd better get ready. We don't have much time. I'm sure they planned it that way..."

* * *

Ratchet fussed with the black bow tie of his tuxedo. No matter how much he adjusted it, it still felt too tight, as though someone had a cord around his neck trying to strangle him. Loosening it yet again, he looked critically at himself in the display pad. While his stripes still had some yellow, orange and brown, there was also a lot of white, silver and grey mixed in. It was almost as though he had been standing on Hoven getting snowed on. Ratchet let out a deep sigh. Still, he had to admit that the monochrome accents in his fur were really sharp against the black and white of his tux! And, _yes_, they were still accents, no matter what the actual ratio might be...

He heard a female voice behind him, "Are you ready, Uncle Ratchet?" Ratchet turned, and a smile filled his face for the first time since Al gave him the news. Amanda Tesseract, Mandy to her friends, stood in a lovely maroon formal gown. Doc's great-granddaughter, the young lombax had a scientific talent that rivaled if not surpassed her ancestor. She also did not have the fur problems that had bothered Doc T most of his life. "You look beautiful, Mandy. Is Chuck here with you?" Chuck Solstice would probably be around here somewhere. Thinking back to Doc's words over fifty years ago, Ratchet was pleased to see that the three families had grown so closely together down through the years. Chuck and Mandy were, well, engaged to be engaged. Ratchet had experienced Talwyn's subtle maneuvering long enough to recognize when it was being played out on someone else. Mandy already had Chuck completely under her command; Chuck just didn't know it yet. Ratchet smiled at the thought. It was merely a matter of time.

Mandy nodded. "He'll be at the central table with Al and me. By the way, if it makes you feel any better, Uncle Ratchet," Mandy continued, "I'll be operating both BetaTex systems personally. Both you and Uncle Clank can rest easy. And once that's over, we'll have a nice dinner on the council's bolts and get to annoy Spiff." Spiff... Even after all this time, he was still on the council. But Ratchet had to admit a grudging respect for the administrative lombax. Not that they were really friends, but Ratchet could not deny his ability, and so few lombaxes had that kind of talent for legal detail. "Shall we?" Ratchet asked with a slightly lecherous grin, offering his arm to the pretty young lombax. Mandy smiled and put her hand on Ratchet's arm. "Certainly. Uncle Clank?"

Clank was 'dressed' in his tuxedo as well; his 'Secret Agent Clank' gear that he made famous on all of the holovids. In fact, you could still watch those episodes even today in late night syndication. Granted, they were chopped up a little to make more space for the advertising... "I am ready, Mandy. Thank you," Clank said, reaching up to hold her other arm.

The three of them walked together out onto the stage, amid a spattering of applause. There were a number of tables set out below the stage, and a large number of deputies from the Lombax Defense Ministry were present near the front. Ratchet could recognize their uniforms, but with the dim lighting of the dining area, he could not really see the people sitting in the tables beyond the rows of foot lights. Set apart on the stage was a table for the dignitaries: there were three seats reserved for himself, Clank and Mandy; Chuck and Al (laughing over some shared joke as always) and, representing the council and presenting the award, Spiff (looking a lot older but still seeming out of place among the laughter of Chuck and Al). The only other items on the stage were two identical BetaTex systems.

Ratchet had expected all of the wires and straps from the nightmare chairs of the old days. But he was pleasantly surprised. In the center of the stage were two comfortable looking padded recliners with a strange eyepiece suspended over the headrest. That, and there were two large cubes of crystal, approximately twenty centicubits on a side, floating side by side approximately a centicubit above what looked to be a pair of teleporter pads.

Mandy guided Ratchet and Clank to the chairs. "Just relax, Uncle Ratchet. This won't hurt a bit..." She activated a control, and the pair of crystals began to glow, illuminated from beneath. Mandy placed the eyepiece over Ratchet's eyes and he found himself looking at a series of colored lights. Rather unremarkable. After Clank was similarly configured, Mandy went to the control panel and pressed a shiny green button.

There were some flashes in the eyepiece, but Ratchet did not notice anything unusual. In fact, he was surprised when Mandy came back to him almost immediately. "All done," she said with a jovial chuckle. "That's it?" Ratchet asked, astounded. He had been bracing himself and, well, his grip on the arm rests of the padded chair was a little tight. "Yup. See for yourself!"

Mandy helped Ratchet and Clank off of the chairs. Leading them to the center of the stage, they could see that the two crystal cubes now seemed to glow on their own. In their depths, a pair of energy patterns twisted and shifted along the crystal matrix. They were quite fascinating to watch. Clank's seemed rather regular; probably to be expected given his robot nature. Ratchet's was all over the place, as though looking for a way out of the cube.

Clank studied them for a moment, and then moved to the side of the stage so that he could examine the cubes from another perspective. Looking from that vantage point, he could see through both crystal cubes at the same time with the patterns overlaid. His eyes widened.

Mandy had moved away and was powering off all of the equipment, pausing briefly to 'accidentally' brush her hand across Chuck's shoulder in passing. Chuck's eyes widened slightly and turned to follow her as she moved. Ratchet could only chuckle to himself. Yup - it was just a matter of time...

"Ratchet, do you have your wrench?" The urgency in Clank's voice shocked the lombax out of his speculation. "Of course. What's wrong?" "Ratchet, we must destroy these crystals. I will explain later. On the count of three..."

Ratchet was shocked at the intensity of Clank's voice and the determined expression on his face, but he trusted his friend. He nodded.

"One..."

Clank assumed his 'Clank-fu' stance from his holovid days in front of his crystal. Ratchet positioned himself carefully next to his own.

"Two..."

Ratchet's omniwrench appeared in his hand, summoned by his neural matrix from his manifestor.

"Three!"

Ratchet performed an overhead strike, bringing his wrench down hard through the cube of crystal, shattering it into thousands of fragments. Clank performed a 'Clank-fu' chop, slicing his hand through his own crystal, also breaking it.

There was a stunned silence in the hall. Conversation at the dignitary's table was stopped immediately, and the murmuring drone of the other tables changed pitch and muted. All eyes turned to Ratchet and Clank with a single question.

But then those eyes moved to look at the remains of the two crystals. The energy patterns that had represented Ratchet and Clank's BetaTex recordings had not winked out of existence as those gathered expected. Instead, the two patterns appeared to be drawn to each other, like oppositely charged ions. Because the cubes had been close together on the stage, it only took moments for the expanding patterns to touch. At first contact, they appeared to grow brighter, and the energy fields began to merge. While they remained unique, the two patterns moved into a single structure, appearing to feed back on one another and grow stronger; brighter. Soon the entire structure stabilized into a dual matrix of energy, floating above the broken fragments of crystal and hovering between Ratchet and Clank.

Ratchet stared at the structure curiously. Leaning inward to get a better look (his eyesight was not as keen as it used to be), he was surprised when one part of the pattern approached him. A single static electric discharge jumped from the chaotic portion of the structure to the very tip of Ratchet's extremely sensitive lombax nose. Ratchet let out a tiny yelp, jumped backward approximately half a cubit and rubbed his nose with his gloved left hand. The entire energy structure seemed to shimmer; twinkle; almost as if in amusement.

Clank let out a chuckle of his own at Ratchet's maneuver. Looking up at the structure, he extended his right fist towards it and butted it gently against the energy matrix. A second static discharge ran from the logical portion of the structure to his fist.

Ratchet looked over to Clank and asked, "What just happened here?" Clank watched his friend very closely - he had expected this and wanted to observe Ratchet's reaction. "Do you remember the day that I was abducted by the Zoni?"

Ratchet blinked. This was not what he expected. "...Yeah..."

Clank continued, enjoying the suspense. "Do you remember what I learned about the Zoni, and of their origins?"

Ratchet thought back. "...Yeah..."

Clank waited. Ratchet thought about what his friend had told him on that day, over fifty years ago. He looked up at the pattern. Suddenly, Ratchet's eyes grew very wide and he jaw dropped open slightly. Clank let out a deep chuckle; this was exactly the reaction he had been expecting. "Congratulations, Ratchet. You are a father."

The wrench vanished from Ratchet's hand and for a moment there was a stunned look on the lombax's face. Then a small smile started to form. With the light from the structure reflected in his moist eyes, Ratchet reached up to touch the pattern once again. Clank mirrored his friend's motions. The pattern flickered for a second, and then grew very bright. A rift formed above the stage and there was a flash of intense blue light. When the glare faded, the stage was empty.

* * *

Kyzil Plateau, Veldin

11:48pm Local Time

The stars shone very brightly in the cloudless night sky. There was little pollution from artificial lighting here, and the only sound that could be heard was a light, intermittent breeze across the empty expanse. There were no locals nearby and no sign of any activity, natural or otherwise.

Much of Veldin had been renovated after repeated attacks and invasions by Drek, Tyhrranoid, Ranger, Pirate, Plasmoid, you name it; but this area had not been rebuilt. For whatever reason, this rather unremarkable location had been the epicenter of almost every single incident. And yet the only things this spot had to offer were the remains of a broken landing pad, the collapsed stone and metal fragments of a storage structure (possibly a garage) and a large tangle of thorntrees. These thorntrees had overgrown both pad and ruins, towered easily over one hundred cubits above the hard packed surface, and giant red spikes grew out at odd angles.

No one was there to see it as a rift seemed to open in the evening air. From this opening, a strange being emerged. It looked like a lombax kit, barely four years old, running barefoot at top speed across the plateau. The kit was wearing hand-me-down work jeans and a backpack of some sort. But the strange thing about the young lombax was that it seemed almost translucent, as though it was merely a holographic projection, and glowed with its own light in the starlit evening.

The kit reached the thorntree and leapt up to catch the lowest spike. The backpack fired a thruster, and the lombax was able to grab the spike with ease. Dangling there, he let go and dropped lightly back to the ground. "Let me do it myself." The words echoed over the empty plateau. But they seemed distorted, and the voice did not match the apparent age of the kit.

The backpack, or rather, the tiny robot riding on the backpack straps, chuckled. "As you wish."

The kit went back to its starting point, ran across the plane again, leapt and missed the thorn by a few centicubits. "Damn. One more shot..."

On the third attempt, the lombax kit was able to grab the thorn unaided. He pulled himself up, a huge smile on his face. Slowly, he began to climb. The kit made its way further and further up the thorntree, going slowly but enjoying the effort, stopping on occasion to simply dangle from an extremely large thorn, or hang upside-down by his knees, his tail tuft just visible over the top of his ears.

After some time, the kit reached the apex of the thorntree, where the spikes were more pliable and would no longer support his light weight. With a huge smile on his face, the lombax kit dove out and away from the tree, performed a somersault, tucked into a ball and plummeted towards the ground. When he was a mere two cubits from the packed dirt, a rift opened just above the surface of the ground and he fell through it, his tail pulled straight behind him by the velocity of his fall. The sound of the mingled laughter of both kit and robot filled the plateau. The rift closed a mere centicubit behind the lombax's tail, and winked out of existence. The final echoes of their laugher faded, with only the sound of the light breeze remaining.

end.

* * *


End file.
